On the Wings of Council
by TopazSoarhire
Summary: Ok, Topaz thought it would be easy, until she meets her Cyndaquil, Fury, things start going on a different track, next thing you know she's jumping off buildings, outrunning forest fires, and that's the least of it!
1. WoC 1

My head lolled back, gazing lazily through the long crescent shaped olive coloured leaves into the deepening violet sky. I often wondered what kind of tree it actually was, probably a pepperina tree, but what did I know about that side of biology? All I cared about was that it was the most perfect climbing tree around. We had done it up with a swing, rope ladder, wooden platforms and everything topped with a layer of cammo paint. 

Why did it need to be so inconspicuous? Well, it wasn't _precisely_ on our property. The tree nestled on a fence line of Farmer Bucket's farmstead. He was a cranky old man, dubbed so because during Spearow breeding season they would hurtle from the copse of tees just outside his house. The battered plastic red bucket was the only protection and as consequence he looked like a reject of the Kelly Gang. He had brought a pair of Arcanine to guard his chickens, only because a Pidgeot pair was nesting. I couldn't count the number of times the majestic birds would plunge from the air to snap up its prey, usually a pesky Nidoran nibbling the terminal buds of his chickpeas, but sometimes one of his chickens, only having to pull out at the last second just as jagged teeth sheered their tail feathers. They were the reason we had risked getting caught.

But this season Bucket had left the land fallow, bearing the fertile brown soil to the sun. Without any crops the rodents disappeared, and without viable prey the Pidgeot's had nicked into the escarpment that cupped Hermestown, yet because of our extensive renovations, we remained in residence able to watch the immense raptors floating on spiralling upward thermals in the distance.

I sighed smiling at the thought of them, leaning back into my branch letting one leg swing as I scanned the distance. I was on lookout, as always, since my own lofty perch provided a three-sixty surveillance. It was mine simply because I was lightest and able to squeeze through the branch bends to get to it. See, what I also neglected to mention was that the tree also bordered Bucket's storage roads, so his farmhands were always zooming in and out.

Nothing, a good enough time as any to open the conversation to my favourite topic. 

" _Soooo,_ training season is opening next week."

"And? Its not like either of us are going anywhere," said a voice glumly from below. I leaned out, eyeing my 'little' brother, sprawled on his back with his hands behind his head, spiny black hair hid his expression but I knew it to one of longing. Unlike most siblings, we got on really well. I think it was because although I was older than him by two years, he was a pretty booffy boy. It meant we had to learn to share early.

"Maybe." Even from the voice you could tell he was grinning. Jarrod always grinned. Just to Scott's left lounging in a hammock of vines just where the main trunk branched out he lay with eyes half closed. Being oldest by a year, he claimed it straight away, but as far as I was concerned, he could have it. I tried it and thick woody thorns left numerous punctures. He was just a lay back kinda kid. "But who are you root'n for in the championships?"

"Brutus!" bawled Matty. Almost at my level, Matty was hanging upside down, his grubby T-shirt dangling over his face. The kid was Scotty's age and Jazz's brother but was so squirmy you could have sworn there was some Mankey in his veins.

"Nooo!" we all groaned in mock agony, including the last of our little posse and my best mate Jess, their sister whether she liked it or not. She rocked the swing with her toes, fingering the vines we had encouraged to grow on the ropes as her blondish hair draped over her face.

"What?" Matty giggle, as if the behemoth whose idea of a battle was raw power, no tactic stood a chance.

"I got an eye on that new electric trainer," Jazz ventured.

"You would!" I jeered. "Shanna is gonna blitz 'em!"

"Phtt!" Scott snorted. "Sez the girl who thinks Clefairy come from space!"

"They do! I read it!" I retorted defensively, and then a little sheepishly added, "Do you think we could make it?"

"Into space?" Jess asked sceptically.

"No-oh, the Championships."

"Course. Its pretty easy," Jazz shrugged. He had done some amateur training when he was ten, but hadn't made it past Circe city before turning back. It was why I constantly badgered him with questions.

"Easy for you to say," Scott grumbled sitting up. "Tez and I don't have a Pidgey between us!"

I nodded in agreement. Because their family was divorced it meant their father spoiled them rotten. Jess had a docile yet somewhat dim Vaporeon, Matty had a feisty midget of a Flareon and Jazz's companion on his short jaunt had been a Jolteon and his larkish nature had certainly rubbed off on it.

Our father who had also been a trainer in his younger days kept us firmly shackled from leaving on an amateur journey by not keeping a Pokemon as a pet. Don't get me wrong, he'd love us to follow in his footsteps but when he began with an injured Rattata he found that without a properly registered and trained beginning Pokemon it was just too difficult. He knew what was best.

Out the corner of my eye I caught a moving dot coming from the farm house, hooning at a hundred K's an hour.

"Car!"

Quick as lightning Matty somersaulted to the ground scuttling into the tall grass with Jess and Scott diving for cover after him. Jazz huddled into a ball, blending effortlessly into the leaves and I made a daring leap onto the limb opposite, weaselling into the uppermost branches out of sight.

The sound of wind and flying gravel grew, past flicking the rocks into the laneways where we hid and faded just as quickly. It was a lot of trouble for just two seconds of vulnerability but we were good as dead if we were caught. From the grass emerged the three, Jess grumbling and picking the twigs out of her hair. She spared a glance at the sky outside our refuge.

"Man we gotta go! I got homework and mum will kill us if she comes home and we aren't there!"

They each added their own colourful description of exactly what they thought of homework, peeling themselves beneath the barbed wire fencing. Easing to the end of the branch that hung over the fence, I hung by my arms and dropped heavily the rest of the way cringing at the pressure on the balls of my foot and the sharp gravel on my bare feet.

I looked over my shoulder at the sun setting over the dusty orange dirt road. 

"Well you never know," I whispered, hopping after my mates.

On the Wings of Council The Essay 

My heart skipped a beat. 

It was here! Here! Here! Here! Here! Here! The entry form had finally been admitted into, which was probably a rainforest all in itself, the Sunday paper. Just a useless stack of paper in boring Times New Roman print with the comics in colour just to entice you to buy it. I stared at the first page with greedy anticipation. Beneath a large colour photograph of a drunk politician in the bottom corner stamped in grand red lettering was what I drooled over every maths lesson at school. 

Every year, the great professors of the Kanto, Johto, and the Orange League offered the chance of a lifetime, the chance to become one of the 10 official Pokemon trainers each year. Glancing down the rest of my empty street, at the mundane houses with their nifty little gardens and gravel driveways and cute little mailboxes in the shapes of Goldeen and Miltanks. I could leave this behind, if I could sneak it into the house without dad pinching it to read the fishing foldout first. I bent down and tucked the mass under my armpit eager to get my bare feet out of the dew-drenched grass.

Deviously I ducked beneath the windows and slipped through our security door, closing it softly, wincing at the click it made when the tumbler relocked it. I peeked around the arch leading into the lounge room. Dad was lazing in his armchair with his feet propped on a beanbag, grumbling about the weather. I think I got most my looks from him; I certainly got his height- which is to say about an inch of the floor. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration but it's a good deal less then other kids my age. 

When I was sure he was properly distracted, I pressed my back against the wall, moving stealthily, mission impossible style.

"Hey Tez! What you got there?" My face blanched as my little brother Scotty peered from the kitchen, his spiny black hair riddled with knots and cowlicks from his noisy sleep. I should know, kept me awake half the night. His eyes met my 'stantler caught in headlights' expression and focus on the rolled up newspaper. "You have it?" he said slowly.

"Eep." I broke and ran for the safety of my room, because even though my brother was two years younger then me, he was as big for his age as I was short. He and I got on great for siblings, but he could definitely sit on me until I gave my hard earned prize up.

Darting down my hall I dived through the door with Scott blustering after me. I closed the door shut just in time and threw my back against it as his weight crashed into it. Straining I gave it a final shove and the door snapped long enough for me to flip the lock.

"What are you kids doing?" I heard my father bellow, but I didn't care. I jumped onto my bed bouncing with excitement, tearing the paper apart. "Sports section, no. University section, no. Real Estate, no. Comics, no. Ah-Ha!"

I scrambled through my desk for scissors, paper and pens, returning to my bed jostling the mangled paper. Dad would not be happy. I snipped carefully along the dotted line, and with meticulous care I began to fill out my details.

**Name:** Topaz Soarhire                                    **Gender:** Female

**Age:**  10         11         12         13         14         15         16

I paused at this. Although I had been racing my brother to this every year since I was ten, this was my most eligible year. When kids were ten and eleven years old, they were almost immediately discarded, or awarded them one of those 'we felt sorry for you here's a cap' prizes. As the years past and those same kids had turned 15 and 16, they no longer cared about the excitement of a Journey, probably having more interest in the other parts of life. I ticked fourteen years of age with enthusiasm.

**Pokemon License Number:** 482-25686

**Area:** Metone            **Town:** Hermes Town                  **Address:** 39 Muse St

I paused, that could be a problem. See, Metone technically wasn't apart of the Southern Leagues; in fact it really wasn't apart of anywhere. It was a continent of land to the North- West Kanto. Its centre was a dry and arid red desert where only the hardiest of people could make a living. Thick green rainforests subject to monsoon storms in the north drew tourists from everywhere and coupled with the East Coasts world-renowned surf it was hard to resist. Its south was very polar orientated, frigid mountains and catacombs of caves sneaking in and out. Of course it had its own Pokemon League, but I had been all over and wanted to see something new.

Contemplating what to do next, the riffled under the blankets of pages and found my own, three pages of 1cm spaced lines, reserved for the required essay the Professors would judge. 

"It has to be catchy, interesting, but meaningful. Oh boy how am I gonna do that?" I grumbled. Finally I jotted down ideas, I formed these ideas into sentences and paragraphs and after only an hour, I had a masterpiece. I read and reread, ignoring Scotty's pounding on the door, his pleading and his bargaining until I was satisfied I was bound to win. 

After finishing the thousand-word essay, I sealed it in one of the envelopes from my mountains of stationary I always got for my birthday along with my entry form. I looked at it with pride, and reluctance. I knew that it would be a long, long wait until I received a reply.

There's only one adjective to describe the eight weeks that followed.

Torture.

Even knowing that kids my age were feeling the same anxiousness as I was didn't quell the anticipation. I barely thought or talked of anything else so much that my friends were sick of me and had threatened that if the word journey popped out of my mouth again; they would hang me in a tree by my dacks. I understood though, my attention span was shot to nothing and my teachers could only persevere. I wasn't the only kid who'd entered and only our Pokemon subject teachers were able to hold our concentration for more then a minute.

But slow though they were, the weeks passed at snails pace. I watched the evening news for the clues that Professor Oak, the chief judge would give, but his answers were always sly and ambiguous. Every day when I got off the bus I pawed through our mail like a furret and when it yielded nothing sulked in my room for an hour or two until my mother's meals cheered me up. If I've learnt anything in my fourteen years of life that time travels slowest when you're waiting, it's like a spiteful little sprite.

"We're home!" I yelled as both Scott and I squeezed through the door at the same time. I rolled my eyes at him as he passed and he poked his tongue right back. No car was in the driveway so our parents were still at work. Like every day I went through the daily ritual of flipping through the mail but as it sat on the counter ready for me to mangle it, it looked nothing more then bills and junk mail. I sighed with irritation.

"Bill, advertisement, junk, junk, junk… Hel-lo!" I grinned broadly

There it was, the envelope that would make or break me. It looked no different then it had any other year. The stamp of Lance of the Elite Four and his Dragonite in the top right corner, the crisp crystal blue stationery and the neatly typed address on the back. 

You know how they say in books that their heart sunk, well mine rather deflated like a balloon. This didn't look like the letter of a winner. I leaned on the counter gazing at it sceptically, or was it dread? It didn't look like the letter of a winner; it didn't even look like the winner of a 'I feel sorry for you, here's a cap' letter. I ambled back to my bedroom and sprawled over my bed, carefully slitting the envelope open and removed the Pokemon patterned stationary, skimming through it.

Hello Topaz Soarhire

Thank you for your entry in the Trainers Challenge..... Impressive and moving essay ....... Accepted into....Sheet enclosed..... Good Luck

"Yeah yeah," I muttered glumly, tossing it over my shoulder… Hang on! My mind warped and I made a wild jump after it, tumbling of my bed as I grasped it and more carefully.

Hello Topaz

Thank you for your entry in the Trainers Challenge. Your essay was an impressive and moving essay. It was easy to tell it was written from the heart, so it is our pleasure to inform you that Professor Oak, Professor Ivy and Professor Elm have accepted your extraordinary essay into the lucky ten. All information on when and where you can pick up your prize is on the enclosed sheet. Good luck in attending and hope to see you soon.

Melissa Hobbs

Melissa Hobbs            

              Pokemon League Chancellor

I leapt from my bed and whooped an almighty victory cry, dancing and wagging my bum all over the place. I was in shock, I was in ecstasy, I was outta here! Scotty rounded the corner sliding in his schools socks and swinging through the door with puzzled expression.

"Jeeze, she's finally flipped her lid," he shook his head as I yipped again.

"Read it and weep!" I gloated, holding it out in outstretched hands as I sprung up and down on my bed, the springs creaking in protest. 

"What!" he blurted. "That's so not fair! Your gonna have to tell mum and dad you're leaving."

"Come on, you know they'll let me, they probably can't wait to get out of the house! Less food to buy, less clothing, won't have to run me into town," I stopped rattling of reasons for a second pausing my bounces until it was just the recoil of the bedsprings moving me up and down. My parents were your average, 'have you done this or that' parents, sometimes irrational in their parent logic, but for most part loving and concerned for me. "You think?"

That night I lay in bed pondering the afternoon's episode. I had been subtle and carefully resealed the envelope leaving it under our dining room table as if it had slipped in my excitement and not noticed, just to see their reactions to it. Well, it wasn't exactly how I'd pictured it. I was lying on the couch within view when Mum spotted it. Her cheery humming went into a quizzical silent as she stared at the envelope. She glanced over at me but my gaze was fixed firmly on a Roadrunner rerun, using my blurry peripheral vision to discern what was on her mind.

"Neil," she called. I don't know how she did it, but it was perfectly casual and had I not known I would have been none the wiser. She strolled nonchalantly to the door, discreetly hiding the envelope behind her leg as she moved and leaned out. "Neil!"

Dad ambled from his tool shed; he was always working on whatnot. When I was little I would always ask him what he was making and he would always reply, "A wingwong for a gooseys bridle." I've always been very close to my dad, maybe it's because I'm not you're average girl. Every year we would have four major camping trips –and when my dad said rough it, he meant it- I was always right there with him. I'm pretty tomboyish I guess.

Dad was in view of the envelope, having seen it many time before and the two quietly ambled behind me, still watching the roadrunner as if indifferent and the slitting of the tab was hidden behind its loud '_meepmeep_!'

"Um, Topaz," my dad said. I couldn't read his expression behind his dark eyes, but I swivelled on my seat with my usually weary expression after a school day. He held up the powder blue stationary by its corner between his middle and ring finger. He smiled with pride.

We argued, well argued isn't the right word, more like debated the pros and cons of my journey but as much as they didn't like the idea of me leaving they agreed it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Their only concession was that while on the road I still had to do my school studies via correspondence, but that was becoming more and more popular these days so I wouldn't be left like a shag on a rock if I had trouble with a maths class. 

I often have trouble with maths, at what point in life am I gonna need to know this stuff? I remember a question on tan ration in Grade 8. If a Meowth is stuck up a tree and you're five meters away, and the angle is 56O, how tall does your ladder need to be. My answer; _Screw Fluffy, call the fire department_. 

Mr Wilson was not amused.

One of my few talents is memorising completely useless bits of information in a short period of time, like the Pokerap. I had that down pat within a day or two and now I used that skill to know the sheet by heart by the time the lights went out. 

The information sheets said that I would be picking up my prize at a small ceremony in New Bark Town, Johto, a fortnight from now. I would have to go through various pre-journey classes that ranged from food rationing, to battle etiquette to caring for your Pokemon. Each was essential to the skills in the outside world, but I was confident I'd fly through them with my camping experiences under my belt. Believe me, some of them were pretty horrendous.

My thoughts lingered on the word prize. It was everything the beginner trainer could beg for, it was the perks of 'an Official Trainer.'Other kids who began just with a Pokemon given by their parents or found simply had to fund their initial pack themselves. That was all the help the League would give us. Mind you, it was nothing to sneer at, not by a long shot.

 A backpack that could probably pack a snorlax in properly if you folded it right, twenty Pokeballs, ten Greatballs, 2 Ultraballs, an elusive Masterball that would be available to us only when we had earned a certain badge –a Masterball in the hands of a rookie is something to worry about, a state of the art Pokedex, cell phone, collapsible bike, potions, revives, antidotes, maps and a voucher for free registration in the Johto League. 

Sure, the pack was absolute legend but that was not the thing longed for most. A Pokemon. The idea of someone who will stick with you no matter what, and all that nostalgic stuff. 

I had the choice of ten different Pokemon from all parts of the globe. The two grass types, Bulbasaur and Chikorita, the fire duo Charmander and Cyndaquil, Totodile and Squirtle the water Pokemon, the thundering dynamos Mareep and Pichu or the baby Pokemon Cleffa and Igglybuff.

"Which one," I mused to myself as my eyelids began to close. Each had its strengths and weaknesses, each had its likes and dislikes, each would have valid opinions and feelings that I had to be in tune with. Which one?

Once again the waiting was there, and this time that single thought tumble through my head again and again. Countless time I was doodling in the margins of my last days in a real school and they had taken the shape of a very ambiguous Pokemon. I already new I wanted either a water type, or an electric type, water being the preference since while travelling Johto it was the intermediate of the five types available. 

See, I did do some study!

But for most part I spent the time with my friends and family, who knew when I would see them again? I think Jarrod was just about ready to strangle me as the last week ticked away but it didn't stop my eager questions. Mum was singing incessantly and every night dad would give advice, the good, the bad and the ugly of training. What Gym battles were like and how to deal with cocky trainers. _Womp their arse!_ He exclaimed, slamming his fist on the kitchen bench as I leaned over it. Scotty still sulked occasionally, but he had at least given up on trying to convince me to let him go in my place. Yeah right! Jess actually considered following me on the journey, but when Jazz said that a large part of it was being hungry, she cast a sidelong look at Vaporeon and scoffed at the idea of journeying all together. Jess and hungry rarely mix.

Then, on the night before I left mum and dad chucked a huge _surprise_ party, noting the sarcasm at the word surprise. Surprises are highly overrated and no matter how careful they were, they couldn't keep me from prying around corners and shuffling through draws. When caught I'd only grin mareepishly. 

With mates from school it was a bonfire bash and even a couple of fireworks which dad had gotten from somewhere or other. How he managed to keep his head on his shoulders, and knowing where his skills in cooking lay I had no idea how. The flames were quickly extinguished and we all gazed up into the night sky bursting with reds and yellows and greens like comet tails drifting to earth. After a round of prezzies, most of which were practical uses, and somehow still receiving the same socks and soaps and stationary I _aaaaalllwaaysss_ got on my birthday or at Christmas. Even so my face was plastered with an imperishable grin that lasted long after the guests left and even as my eyes slowly shut. 

_"Beeep, beeep, beeep, beeep_." 

I raised my head of my pillow to see the numbers 6:00 flashing in neon red lights of my alarm clock. It buzzed and buzzed and buzzed as I stared at it dully.

"Bloody hell," I muttered to myself, slapping the button grumpily.  Even on such an exciting day I couldn't be morning person. Morning people always tend to be obnoxiously happy for the rest of the day and nothing was gonna change me into one of _those_. It is only on the rarest of occasions did I get up of my own freewill before 8:30 and if so, it's usually to watch cartoons. As I pealed back the covers, and rolled onto my feet I realised that my well-loved cartoons would only be watched at a PokeCenter. 

This journey stuff it seemed did have its downsides.

Kneeling in front of my full-length mirror I pulled my extraordinarily long raven blue hair into a ponyta tail with a Pokeball studded band and threw my favourite Orange Island League cap over the top of it with the tail poking through the back. It was one of my favourite possessions my dad had bought for me while we holidayed on Mandarin Island. It was black with a red Pokeball printed on the front, with a yellow brim and yellow sides, and my name scrawled in 9 year old handwriting on the inside. I tugged on my long sleeved red shirt, with Pokeball clips on the bottom white trim and my yellow and black shorts to match my cap. I had argued with mum long and hard to get my own trainer uniform and in the end had to dish out my own funds for it. As I gazed at my reflection, I looked the part. It was worth it.

But something was missing

"Watch!" I frowned as I searched my room for it. I tossed bits and pieces aside and rummaged through the draws till it looked like a Gyarados had come and used its Dragon Rage, but then again, maybe it was worse.

"Ahem," a voice coughed behind me I turned to see Scott dangling the watch.

"Heh heh," I chuckled embarrassed as he glanced at the state of my room. "Left it in the bathroom again?"

Scott nodded, he wandering in and making room on my bed to sit. He sighed enviously, looking at the bag I had packed about a week in advance with longing. "Have you decided on what Pokemon your going to choose?"

"I've narrowed it down to Totodile, Charmander or Mareep," I answered, pulling the strap tight around my wrist. I chewed my lip and looked around. I didn't want to leave anything behind because if I did it was over a continent away and I wouldn't be coming back for a long time.

"Time to go Topaz," my mothers voice rang from the lounge. I looked at the comforts of my room, the recognition that I wouldn't see my childhood toys and photographs for a long time hit home. It was depressing and I hated being depressed.

"Don't worry, I'll clean it up." I screwed my face, almost forgetting he was there.

"More like clean it out so you can have it," I joked. "I'll call you as soon as I get my new Pokemon!"

"Topaz!"

"Coming mum," I sighed as I tugged the massively overcrowded bag onto my back. I stumbled and staggered until I got my balance, cringing at the thought that this was going to be on my back almost 24/7. When stood upright I whispered slyly. "I'll send ya a Pokemon as soon as you get your license!" –_ Which could be anywhere from 1 to 6 years,_ I added silently

I hugged dad, him trying to cram in as much information as he could, and followed mum into the car. She hugged and kissed her as I stood before the plane, feeling awfully melancholy but eventually boarded. I laughed aloud at her madly waving arms through the port window. 

The propellers began to spin with a muffled _chop-chip-chop-chip, _rolling down the runway and my mum was forced to stand back. I peered through the window as she grew smaller and smaller and as the plane lifted off the ground, vanished altogether. I leaned back into the chair, my heart empty and my mind full. I remember little of the actual flight, snoozy part of the way, that is until the little snot behind got the bright idea to kick the back of my chair to the rhythm of the in-flight movie's soundtrack. Finally it got too much and I leapt to my feet to wring his scrawny little neck but his wide girthed mother intervened with a dark glare. That's justice for you people. 

After trying, sleep was futile, the bloke beside me snored like a rusty old train. I read my trainers guide. So immersed was I that when I finally looked up, we bumped along the tiny runway of New Bark Town. 

I Choose You 

I glanced at my watch, 8:13, and six minutes since I last checked. I started to pace again. Back and forth, back and forth. I looked at my watch again. 8:16. I growled in frustration. This was stupid! New Bark Town was the same sleepy little town I had left behind, except larger. I was openly amazed at the fact it had an airport. Well you couldn't call it an airport, more of a pitchmen road with a box beside it where you could purchase tickets but it was to be expected. It was the official beginning destination for all trainers of the Johto League so they flitted in and out and around. 

I arrived in New Bark Town late yesterday evening dog-tired. I waited inside the box for someone to escort me to a tiny little apartment with a bed and a bedside table. Come to think of it, it was much bigger than the airport itself. So I stood slack jawed and slumped shoulders and when a brisk man asked if I was Topaz Soarhire, all I replied was, "Huh?"

After a quick meal I flung myself into the bed, but I'm sure with the mattress that hard I would have been just as comfortable on the floor. 

Funnily enough I work up at 7:30. This time I scurried about the little room, chewing a muesli bar with one hand and scouring my trainers guide with the other, reciting noisily bits I thought would help when the time to choose actually came. I wasn't supposed to meet outside Professor Elm's laboratory until 9:00 but as 7:45 rolled round I couldn't take it any more and wandered over to the lab. It was a big white building at the top of a sandy yellow road on a cresting hill. Behind it lay acre after acre of ecosystems and my eyes widened in disbelief at all the different Pokemon, varying in such shape and size and colour I thought they were a dream.

Suddenly a door slam roused me from my thoughts to see a lanky blond boy getting out of the taxi. I stared at him curiously as he tripped over his baggage and hauled it up the path. He was a rival trainer and I didn't know if I should be nice to him. I was never good at making friends and most people disgusted me for one reason or another. 

That was another thing for me to think about, should I remain by myself or choose a companion for my journey. I guess I'd burn cross that bridge when I'd come to it, or something like that.

"Hi, I'm Matthew," he said holding out his hand.

I hesitated suspiciously. What was he doing? "Topaz," I replied with a firm grasp, just to prove I wasn't afraid.

"Where are you from, Topaz?"

"Hermes Town, Metone." 

"Never heard of it," he grinned, trying to encourage me to go on.

I kept my same bland expression and after a while he saw I wasn't interested and turned his attention on two rowdy teenagers coming up the hill. One was a boy with neatly brushed dark blonde hair and a self confident stride the other was a girl who sniggered at him, jabbing his ribs with her forefinger her own shoulder length blonde hair flying in all directions.

_How annoying,_ I reflected. 

I watched with amusement as over the next hour another seven kids appeared, each lugging travel bags and backpacks filled to the brim, bright eyed with hope and wonder at what was happening to them. As the time grew closer and closer the tenth and last kid failed to show. "There's one in every group," I mumbled rolling my eyes, thinking of how the famed Ash Ketchum had done the same thing. I shuddered to think about how humiliating would it be if they ended up following the same path to glory as he.

 My obsession with my watch grew stronger as it neared 9:00. When I glanced at my watch after a long stint, I saw it was 8:56. 

"Yes!" I cried, causing the others to stare at me. "Four more minutes," I said awkwardly, shrugging my shoulders and flushing a bright red.

"Not quite," a voice said behind me. I spun almost tripping on my shoes to face a warm wrinkled face, a leading researching in Pokemon evolution, training and behaviour. A great man I had spent at least the last three years learning about in my Pokemon classes. The almighty Professor Oak.

"Please come in," he smiled ushering the kids in. I impatiently started forward but like a river the other kids surged past, butting me to one side. I growled into my chest and tailed them but even as I did two hands shoved me roughly away again. With my legs already twisted it was all it took to tumble over the side of the cement stairs onto my arse and when I rolled over and looked up, it was the tenth kid. Tall and muscled with long red hair framing his face. He sneered at me with his squinty green eyes narrowed; something had obviously put him out of temper.

"Me first."

My jaw dropped and without a thought for him my leg shot out and hooked his shin. His limbs windmilled as he hit the floor with a _thwack._

"8.6 on the Richter scale!" I bugled and heard the cackles from within.

He stumbled to his feet and snatched me my shirt pulling me onto my feet. My face pinched anxiously as he pulled me nose to nose. "Why you little..." he started.

"Ahh, Tobias. I see you made it," Professor Oak said from the doorway. "Your Aunt is waiting for you inside."

Aunt? He stalked angrily inside to be met by Professor Ivy of the Orange Island League. She spoke briskly with her hands on he hips. She was not impressed. Of course, Professor Ivy was his aunt, it was kind of obvious, I mean the kid hardly looked like he couldn't even tie his shoes, let alone become the worlds greatest Pokemon Master.

"It escapes me how such a brilliant mind could be related to such a buffoon," Professor Oak muttered to me. I nodded in agreement, brushing my self down. "You had better come inside uh-"

"Topaz," I provided.

"Topaz," He smiled brightly, recognising my name from the winners lift. I beamed with delight. "It's almost time to announce the winners, and you won't want to miss that."

As I scampered at his heels through the door, my eyes locked on my prize. At the back of the room the other winners reached into clear compartments, in each was a Pokemon cooing and calling with glee at the many hands holding and rubbing and tickling. Without waiting I surged forward to find the Pokemon destined to stand by my side through thick and thin.

On each case was a status board telling about the Pokemon's Pokedex, temperament, and status. I made my way over to a glass case. Inside was Mareep, a Pokemon with static bristling though its fluff with excitement. I glowed happily as I scooped him up, rubbing my hand over his curl.

"Mareep, the static Pokemon. 

**Type**: Electric **Height**: 2,0 **Weight**: 17lbs.

**Temperament**: These Pokemon is known to be loyal companions

**Status**: Male **Level**: 5 Attacks: **Tackle** Growl Thundershock"

Interesting, loyalty was what I would need from my Pokemon on my journey. He wriggled in my hands, latching his paws over my hands and bleating. I would have happily continued to cuddle him but a bump on my left indicated the line was moving. I passed him on to a tall willowy girl.

I peered into the next compartment. It was empty! After a closer examination of the area I saw the tiny Pokemon hiding behind a large stone. She was a cute little thing, the tips of her ears were a blackish brown giving contrast to the rest of her pink body and the pink curl which reminded me of her evolution, Clefairy.

"Cleffa, the fairy Pokemon. 

**Type:** Normal Height: 11 inches Weight: 6lbs.

**Temperament:** Very shy, takes a while to trust its trainer 

**Status:** Female           **Level**: 5           **Attacks**: Sing Charm Pound"

I hardened myself, as cute as she was a timid Pokemon wasn't good in battle so she wasn't the one for me. 

Behind her was Igglybuff, the devolution of Jigglypuff. His elastic-like skin felt smooth against me. He bounced up and down in excitement as I picked it up and but he struggled to escape from my arms towards a girl up ahead. He had already formed a bond with her so I put him back, hoping that she would choose him.

After placing him back in his case I moved forward again. This time the Pokemon was Pichu, devolution of Pikachu. He looked quite a bit like his older sibling only his ears were considerably larger. I scratched him behind the ear. _Zap_! A jolt of electricity coursed through my body making my hair stand on end and leaving me like a crisp chip. I wheezed as the Pokemon giggled at my frazzled appearance. I glared, I didn't need that on my every time I touched him, and progressed to the next one. 

The Charmander in the next glass case paced and waved its flamed tail about. I guess it was as impatient as I was. When it saw me it breathed a puff of smoke and turned its back. I made a disappointed sigh. I really wanted a Charmander, but dad said don't to pick the Pokemon, let it pick me. I smiled coaxingly but he swang his tail and thumped the glass leaving a black smudge.

A Totodile! In the next case the blithe reptile pressed against the glass, rubbing his head and pawing at it.

"_Totodile_," he squawked in a voice very much like Donald Ducks This was the Pokemon I wanted to take with me. 

"Totodile, the Bigjaw Pokemon. 

**Type:** Water Height: 2,0 Weight: 21lbs.

**Temperament:** Friendly, good for beginning trainer 

**Status:** Male **Level:** 5            **Attacks**: Scratch Leer Rage,"

It squawked again, raised himself over the glass and leapt into my arms. The sweet little thing made himself comfortable. "I'll make you mine," I clucked, scratching his pebbly blue skin.

I reluctantly handed him over to the girl behind me and was little jealous when the Totodile was playing with her hair much the same way as he played with mine. The next Pokemon was a Bulbasaur, I didn't know much about him as he came from the Kanto region. It resembled a bluish dinosaur with a dark green plant bulb on its back with fierce red eyes. I had decided firmly I didn't want a grass type.

"Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. 

**Type:** grass **Height**: 2,0 **Weight**: 23lbs.

**Temperament:** Stubborn. 

**Status:** Male  **Level:** 5           **Attacks:** Tackle Growl Vinewhip,"

His counterpart was right in front of him, a Chikorita. She waved her leaf-plumed head to grab my attention. She didn't seem like a bad choice, if fact I heard this grass type was very dependable. My resolve not to choose a grass type swayed and I kept her in mind.

The Squirtle lay tucked in her shell asleep, oblivious to the activity around it. Frowning, I tapped its shell. It shuddered on the inside but not turtle Pokemon was forthcoming.

Suddenly a hiss sounded from the glass case beside me and I finally noticed Tobias. He was poking what could only be a Cyndaquil, with its yellow breast blue back and flaming quills, with his short stubby finger. The Cyndaquil was backed up against the glass her back towards him streaming fire, coating the glass with dark smoke. When she couldn't hold the flame any longer, it vanished. She panted, rocking from side to side with a raspy growl. Intimidation wouldn't work on this predator. 

"I like a Pokemon with spirit, your mine you little rat." Tobias stabbed her one last time in the stomach, laughed at her squeal, strolling on. 

_You'll get yours pig, I'll make sure of that _I fumed to myself. People back home were always saying how strange it was that someone so small and slight could have the temper of a Charizard.  

I turned my attention back to the Cyndaquil. She was cowering in the far corner, shaking with a slick sweat. Warily I lifted her out of the glass and held her tight, petting her till she had calmed down. She didn't struggle, simply rested regaining her breath. She tilted her face up with her squinting eyes. It was then I was sure I wanted her.

"People," Professor Ivy's voice rang out. "Its time to announce the winners!" 

We quickly put the Pokemon back and scrambled for a good view on a couple of wooden benches at the back of the room. Out front our panel of scientists watched us with probing eyes, trying to read our thoughts, interpret how we would conquer the world outside. I'm positive they were taking bets which of us would last the longest. 

When everyone was seated Professor Elm stood up from his chair, peering across the room almost laughingly.

"I know you kids don't want to be bored by a long speech but I'd like to congratulate you on your amazing essays. I think each one touched a special place in our hearts," he said indicating to the other two Professors. They nodded with sincerity. "Its now time for the moment you've been waiting for. When I call your name, please select a Pokemon, come to Professor Oak for your Pokeballs and select your corresponding backpack." 

For the first time I noticed the various colour packs lined along the wall with black piping for each. It was amazing that with all the items inside that it wasn't bulging, it actually seemed like I could fit the rest of my crap in there. As good as Mary Poppin's magic carpetbag! A good thing too because once I was done with it I wouldn't have even fitted a matchstick inside one of the many pockets.

"First prize," Ivy announced with a smile of pride, "goes to Adam Purves!" 

The boy I saw arguing with the girl that morning stood up, a sidelong smug look at the girl who just so happened to sit beside me. 

"Another achievement for Mr. Perfect," she snickered to me. I gave her a blank look. "We both come from Vermillion City, he always wins everything and all the teachers love him." 

I grinned at this; rolling my eyes. I knew the type so I guess it was true, you just couldn't escape the school hierarchy. The girl didn't seem half bad.

We both turned our attention to Adam who was walking confidently towards the Grass section.

"I hope he doesn't take Chikorita," the girl said, looking worried. She didn't have to because Adam passed by Chikorita to stand by Bulbasaur and claimed in a strong voice, "I choose Bulbasaur." 

I caught a couple of disappointed faces as Professor Oak handed him a shiny emerald green Pokeball and picked up the matching backpack. He and Bulbasaur returned to their seat with the vines tangling around his legs in adulation.

"Second Prize is awarded to Sumalee Erben!" The Asian looking girl with shoulder length black hair with bright red streaks strode forward to choose...Totodile. I mumbled inaudibly at the downer. 

_Oh well_, I thought but it was obviously a case of sour grapes._ I already have a Pokemon if Cyndaquil isn't chosen. _Sumalee, satisfied with her choice, took the luminous lapis blue Pokeball and bag.

"Third Prize was won by Ashlee Middleton!" The blond girl darted ahead and lifted Chikorita out of its case as if afraid at the last moment someone would step in and take it.

"I pick Chikorita!" she grinned from ear to ear, brandishing the little grass type in the air with both arms above her head.

"_Chika_," she squealed, delighted with her new trainer she waved her plumed head. Ashlee returned beside me with her Pokemon, a glossy green Pokeball and pack. 

"Congratulations on your new Pokemon, Ashlee," I said inspecting Chikorita again. She pulled out of my reach and leaned against Ashlee's leg.

"Yeah," Adam laughed, now beside her. "Now we have something new to compete over."

I looked up to see a short boy by the name of Ryan Reathmuller choose Charmander which welcomed him with open arms. He was passed an Orange Pokeball as bright as the others. 

"Winner of Fifth Prize, is Topaz Soarhire!" I steadily got up and walked to the Cyndaquil, barely containing my excitement as I approached. This was it! Everything we had ever talked about! My first step on the road to greatness, a best friend who would stand with me and fight for me!

She whined, hissing as she still cowered in the corner. 

"Shhh," I cooed picking her up softly caressed her head. "I'll look after you!"

"Hey you little dog! That's my Pokemon!" I leapt a mile high. It was Tobias. He jumped up from where he was sitting and crossed the distance in heavy stomps. His arms shoved roughly between her, snatching her by the nape of her neck and pushing my shoulder back.  Cyndaquil squealed, latching her tiny paws onto my shirt as he tried to tug her off. A thick tongue of flame leapt to lick his unprotected face. He staggered back spluttering. The blaze narrowly missed him but he angrily rubbed his sooty face and smoothing the stray strands of his long red hair.

"Bonza!" I crowed, stabbing a triumphant finger between his eyes. "Wanna try again, and _I'll_ finish the job!"

"_Quil!"_ Cyndaquil chirped, backing me up with a menacing flash of flames from her back. I kept that grin plastered across my face but I desperately wanted to shake my hand madly and dull the hot throbbing.

"You'll be the one who's sorry, dog," he hissed scrambling away lest Cyndaquil attack again.

"Go back to your seat now or WE'LL DISQUALIFY YOU FOR THIS APPALLING BEHAVIOR," Professor Elm roared, sending papers scattering over the ground. Aids from all sides rushed in, sweeping them up and setting them timidly back on the table. Professor Ivy mumbled, blushing furiously covering her eyes as she stared at her notes. Professor Oak looked oblivious, picking at some tofu. He looked up with a full mouth, chewing slowly and cow like.

With one last, chilling glare, Tobias sat back down to wait for his turn. Things weren't done yet, he certainly wasn't the kind of kid to be outsmarted by a midget girl but that didn't bother me. I bounced Cyndaquil in my arms as Professor Elm I collected my metallic crimson Pokeball and backpack and sat back down.

"You were incredible, Cyndaquil," I murmured to her.

Ashlee poked me and pointed to where Tobias sat glowering. "I think you've made yourself an enemy Topaz. Tobias has it in for you."

"He can take a ticket. Besides Cyndaquil will be there, eh Cyndaquil?" 

Cyndaquil looked at me puzzled, still quivering slightly. _"Quii-ill?" _

Was it just me, or was that a _you're on your own_ look?"__

"Sixth goes to Matthew Gammel," Professor Ivy announced, a blush in her cheek because her nephew had embarrassed her.

Matthew was a little unsure of himself. He paced between the sleeping Squirtle and the sparking Pichu. Finally he reached over the glass to select, Pichu. He was most likely thinking of the current champion of the Elite Four, Ash Ketchum, who had started with Pikachu. As he touched Pichu, his eyes widened. He'd been shocked too. A polished yellow Pokeball and pack was now his. Every now and again I'd his eyes would bulge and a spark of lightning would rip through his blond hair.

"Seventh prize is presented to Tiffany Hill!" She stepped towards the case that held Cleffa. But the timid little Pokemon wouldn't leave her crevice behind the rock.

"Try this," Professor Elm said handing her a piece of apple. Tiffany tried again and this time the she happily seized the apple. Tiffany carefully lifted her clear of the case and received her pinkish Pokeball.

"Eighth is Sky Erbacker." Now there were only three Pokemon left, Mareep, Igglybuff and Squirtle. Sky chose Mareep the sheep with little hesitation, although I was sure he had had is eye on a different Pokemon at the beginning. After accepting a Gold Pokeball and pack, the two returned to their seat, the little fluff ball bleating happily and tail wagging. 

Kylie Zwiske won Ninth and didn't even have to walk the entire length of the room to reach her Pokemon. Igglybuff bounced out of the glass, but Igglybuff's skin was extra rubbery so when it hit the floor it ricocheted off and bounced on all directions. 

"Bulbasaur, grab Igglybuff with your Vinewhip!" 

"_Iggly!"_ Fwoof! Off the wall to my right as the vines tried to lasso around it!

"You to, Chikorita!"

"_Iggly!" _Bonk! It bounced off the ceiling and off the floor!

"Totodile, when I throw you up grab him!"

"Get him, Charmander."

Voices and Vinewhips were everywhere. Igglybuff recoiled off anything and everything with people tripping forward or falling back. Cyndaquil and I huddled in the corner and every now and again I'd feel the burn of her backflame because of her panic. When order was restored, Igglybuff and a strawberry pink Pokeball were handed to her.

"Last but not least Tobias Morris." Tobias stomped forward and grabbed the shell still snoring Squirtle, swinging it without concern for the Pokemon within. Squirtle awoke and not liking his trainer's rough handling he blasted him with a torrent of icy water.

"You little snot!" Tobias snarled prepared to hurl him at a near by wall.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Professor Ivy yelled shooting to her feet as she shook an accusing finger at her nephew. "I've had enough humiliation for one day and if you don't treat your Pokemon properly you won't get one!"

Intimidated by his Aunt, he stayed his temper a recalled Squirtle into his turquoise Pokeball.

"Now that you have you Pokemon," Professor Oak said somewhat sleepily, breaking the awkward silence. "You may go. You have been registered in the Johto League and have our numbers programmed into your cell phones if ever you need us. It's a big wide world out there, full of obstacles to brave and startling realisations. Follow your heart."

Quick as lightning kids clamoured for the door with triumphant cries, and I was being pushed through like a raging river in flood. While still clutching Cyndaquil protectively I scurried out of the way of the stampede and onto the podium to stand beside Adam and Ashlee who had the same idea. Each of us had a childish gawp on our faces as the area was left in a shamble by the passing feet, leaving only a lonesome tumbleweed to trail through the door after them. 

We each raised a sceptical eyebrow.

I knelt down, setting Cyndaquil beside me and began to repack my things. Just as I had expected the bag swallowed everything with ease and still sagged a little at the edges. I looked at it approvingly. It was a WonderBag!

As the last item was sorted a phone's high-pitched trill rang through the lab, aids scattering left and right to look for the source. They were sure a nervous bunch, probably too much caffeine but after a few moments one returned, his glasses askew with a receiver in hand for Professor Elm. Refitting his own glasses on the nib of his nose he answered with a laugh. "Hell-oh! Oh is that so Mr Pokemon! You don't say! You don't say? Is that so? You don't say! Uh huh, uh huh. You don't say! I'll send someone right over."

As he hung up Professor Ivy, leaning against her desk in thought rolled her eyes, she asked, "What did he say he found _this _time?" She rolled her eyes, continuing to pick at her nails.

"He didn't say," he said attempting the lame joke to which she rolled her eyes again in disgust. Childishly he stuck his tongue out at her and turned to we remaining trainers. 

"Would you be able to do me a favour?" 

"Of course!" Adam volunteered, an enthusiastic arm shooting into the air. I made a squawk of indignation, I never agreed to that! Things to do, people to see, Pokemon to catch!

Professor Elm eyed me with faint disapproval but carried on regardless. "That was Mr Pokemon. He lives North of Cherrygrove City and has made an interesting discovery and I'm too busy. If you could please go and bring it back I would be very grateful."

"Of course we will!" Adam assured, appearing cool and layback. "We'll start right now."

He followed Elm to grab the directions while I shot questioning glances at Ashlee. Ashlee shrugged and rolled her eyes, mouthing the word, _suckup._ We sniggered.

"Hmm," I mumbled squatting and hauling it onto my shoulders. Whatever my bag looked like it was still bloody heavy and I staggered a few steps around the room before balancing and shifting it so it fit comfortably into the curves of my back. Swallowing hard, I righted myself, looking pretty ridiculous with my legs spaced further apart and a goofy grin. What ever was to slow us down, it didn't matter, I was on my way to fame and glory!

"Okay lets get goin' Cyndaquil," I grunted. I spared her a critical glance. "You're not going to get far on those paddle feet, climb aboard."

Cyndaquil snorted insultingly, lifting her feet for her own inspection but falling flat on her back. I laughed musically, bending down for her to scramble up. She perched satisfied on the seat of the bag with her paws hooked into my collar and with "_Cyyyyndaquil!"_ she thrust it out towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah! Who's the trainer round here! You's two coming?"

"Yep!" they chorused, petting their own Pokemon and slanting to one side with the weight of their pack. This was so cool! I was doing it! Me, Topaz Soarhire, a scrawny country kid of average grades and had been looking at an average future probably at a desk job. My dream had been to become a Pokemon Ranger, but this was ten times better!

The exultation was so strong, I couldn't help but whistle as I teetered around the room to get out the door!

         "Whow-ow!" I whined, tugging of my sneaker and examining the blisters that had formed on my heel. I was tired, dirty, hungry and dishevelled, but I felt a certain contentment at the long day of walking. It was obvious that the other trainers had been before us, the wild Pokemon had learnt their lesson and fled until the coast was clear. No matter how hard we looked not a Pidgey was to be found. I guess it was a good thing we didn't find anything because there would have been such a row over it it would have escaped anyway.

         The thought stopped me as I unfurled my sleeping bag on the floor of the Cherrygrove PokeCentre, trapping Cyndaquil beneath. She sneezed, poking her head from beneath it and snuggling on top with purring sound.

         "Hey guys."

"Yeah, Tez?" Ashlee answered from in front of a mirror of our cosy little room, and when I say cosy I mean cramped, brushing out her blond hair from the tangles and prickles we had picked during the day. Adam had misjudged the track and as consequence we rolled to the dusty bottom with cuts and scratches to boot. I was not pleased and I let him know, just short of my fist.

"I don't reckon we should travel together, it'll get to competitive among us if wild Pokemon stay this scarce. I'll be knocking off on my own tomorrow."

"Knock yourself out," Adam answered vacantly, rubbing his hand on the smooth surface of the egg we had retrieved. It was white with pale blue and pink geometric squiggles over it. Nothing spectacular so I wondered what had the short, stocky Mr Pokemon so excited.

Ashlee looked anxious. "You're going to leave me with him? How will I be able to survive his know-it-all-ness!" she wailed mockingly, flopping backwards with her hand on her heart and moaning. With a gleeful cry her Chikorita leapt onto her stomach and her trainer blanched at the impact.

I smiled dryly. Within a few hours I had dubbed Ashlee the Queen of Corny. There wasn't one joke she told that didn't make me groan. "You'll survive."

"Hey!" Adam retorted. "You didn't listen to anything I said?"

"Of course not," I said soothingly. "You see Adam, most kids your age would be obliged to stop talking when the people their talking to begin to show signs of exhaustion, coma and rigger-mortuus, not you."

"Yeah, well at least _I_ don't threaten everyone with a fist."

"Shutup."

Sunlight. 

I hate sunlight.

With a groan I rolled over in bed, reaching clumsily to pull my blinds closed and shut the penetrating beams out. I groped, leaning further and further across without meeting it.

"Huwhoa!"

THUD!

_"Cyndaaaaa!"_

Fwooooof!

I landed sprawled on the cold lacquered floor with all my blankets pulled with me. The harsh squeal came as I rolled over and bright yellow flames flared up kindling my tangled around my waist.

"HOTHOTHOT!!!!" I wailed leaping up wide-awake, struggling to free myself of my sleeping bag bunched around my ankles and furiously clapping my hands on my hair. Racing around the room in panic and with sudden clarity I stuffed my head into the mountain of my blankets, smothering them out.

I flopped to the floor panting, glaring at the Pokemon grinning in amusement; even her squinting eyes seemed to be laughing at me. With a groan I rubbed my eyes, looking around groggily. Of course this wasn't my bedroom, it was the bloody freezing room at the Cherrygrove PokeCentre I had stayed in last night. I rubbed my arms shivering a little as I scanned the room. Packs were gone and most was tidied up. How did I sleep through that?

"What do we do now, Cyndaquil? What do they have in the way of food around here?" I ventured, standing up ready to get dressed. I gave her a stern look and she gave an exasperated _Quil!_ before turning around obligingly. I pulled on my nifty new uniform and when I still looked like a trainer I smirked arrogantly. If anyone was going to get on this journey it had to be me!

After squandering a good half hour at the PokeCentre's complimentary trainers buffet table, we wobbled out, bloated and satisfied. Oh I love a hot meal, but that meant that going out into the world would be all that much difficult. I had inherited my fathers cooking abilities, which is to say zilch. 

Peering up and down the street I wondered which way to go. It was larger than New Bark town, but then again so was my room at home. Wriggling my shoulders to fix my uncomfortable pack I observed a green tiled roof rising above the others and figuring that there had to be a reason for making it so noticeable.

"You know, what about the Pokemart, its not like I need to stock up but you never know what we don't have but might need," I suggested to her on the back of my pack again. She shrugged, gazing in wonder at the houses and the buildings. I kept forgetting how young she was in Pokemon years, she couldn't be more than level 6 at most, considering how little battling we could do yesterday. 

"Come on, mate," I called to Cyndaquil who was snuffling around quaint streetlamp curiously.

It was big, but then again I was a country hick, and what did I know. It took no less than thirty seconds for me to wander around and realise I didn't know which way I had come, but that didn't really matter. On every side were gidgets and gagets and thing-a-ma-bobs galore. I prodded a bizarre item that looked like a calculator, except for the antennae and feet and it took off on a musical jig, bobbing up and down while it sang in a computerised voice. I quickly tried to find the off button but only continued louder and louder. 

Needless to say I put it down and shuffled away, whistling innocently.

I coasted along the aisles aimlessly, looking at nothing in particular, till bold black lettering caught my eye.

"Translator," I mused to Cyndaquil turning it over in my hands, examining the tiny black box no bigger then my thumbnail. This could make things a hell of a lot easier than second guessing what my Pokemon were saying. I excitedly waved a shop assistant over wondering how something so bland could work. 

"Hi!" interrupted the copper haired girl, thrusting her hand into mine without hesitating and ripping my arm from my socket. "I'm Shop Attendant Jheta! My relatives and I are experts in Pokemon care and if there's anything you ever need, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Yeah, thanks," I drawled withdrawing my hand and patting Cyndaquil on my shoulder. "Do these really translate Pokemon speech?"

"Absolutely positively! They're the latest technology once only available to the rich and famous with the ability to convert anything your Pokemon says for you to understand is now yours to own!" She bugled like carnie in Sideshow Alley at a carnival. She caught sight of Cyndaquil, eagerly lifting her from her perch and ignoring her warning growl. She disappeared down another aisle for a second and returned with a dog collar, slipping it around my Pokemon's neck. "Would you like to test it?"

Annoyed at her presumptuous attitude I gave a surly, "Yes please."

Jheta beamed, palming the black box from my hand like a magician and snapping it onto the collar, giving an encouraging nod.

"Hi Cyndaquil!"

_"Don't be stupid! There has to be something more intelligent in the human vocabulary than, _'Hiiiii-_iiii_." 

"Hey!" I snapped back angrily, recovering from my astounded gawking. "Have you been making snide comments like that the whole way?"

"_Maay-be,"_ she purred slyly. The translator made her sound exactly like her soft Pokemon voice. I laughed, thinking how cool it would be to have conversations along the way. She stuck her round paw through the collar and looked at it disdainfully with a meaningful look. I shrugged turning to the shop attendant and asked if there were any collars more fashionable.

"Of course! Follow me and you'll find a range of stylish collars to fit the personality of even the wildest Pokemon!"

"Whatever."

We toddled after Jheta who lead us to a brightly coloured rack and she motioned for us to find browse through. We perused over them, picking some up and holding them against Cyndaquil's fur with mock voices.

"What about this one_ daaaahling!"_ I crooned, holding one up with a gross pink floral design. She gave a disgusted _Ug!_ batting it away and tossing it into the growing pile in the corner. After a minute or two more, Cyndaquil poked her head up from beneath a pile of them, with one hanging over her nose.

"_This one!"_ she said resolutely. I held it up to the light, watching the sun glitter on the sparkling red and yellow flames. I turned it over and checked the price tag. Yeesh!All that for a strip of leather? I sighed dolefully but reached into my pocket and plucked out a twenty dollar note. What a rip, but when I affixed it and she posed hither and thither in from of a mirror I smiled wanly, it was worth it I guess.

"Looks pretty snazzy, Cyndaquil," I complimented, wondering if any of my other Pokemon would be so pricey. She nodded smugly turning her neck again to reflect the sun. 

_"That's another thing Topaz," _she said, not turning away from her reflection. "_Could you _not_ call me 'Cyndaquil, it'd be like me calling you 'Human."_

"Yeah, no worries, what do you have in mind?"

Sheuttered a bark like laugh, "_You couldn't pronounce it if you tried, so I guess it's up to you."_

I paused thoughtfully; head cocked trying to find something that would suit her. "Flame?"

"_Pfft! Why not just call me Fido and be done with it," _she scoffed.

"Hey," I retorted defensively, I was never good at name my pets. "Ok, Blaze."__

_"Zzzzzzit, wrong!"_ she droned like a game show buzzer.

"How about Fury?"

"_Fury_," she murmured reflectively. "_Its better than Blaze I guess_."

"Glad you like it. Now how about we catch a few Pokemon, Fury?" I suggested.

Fury's face lit up like a candle. "My first battle, let's go!"

Thirty minutes later I had finally navigated my way out of the town into a quiet patch of long swaying panic grass, scouring it and trying to flush out something with loud noises and hulking steps. I wiped the sweat of my brow with my sleeve, leaning against a tree watching the road. This was harder than they made it look on TV, they just jumped out at you there. As I rested, watching the long green blades part for the invisible Fury as she scurried around ardently for an opponent.

My attention lagged further when suddenly meters away to my left, the grass stirred with an alarmed squeak.

"Fury!" I yammered excitedly, my thoughts racing for everything I'd learnt in the pre-journey classes. _Ok,_ I thought flustered as Fury appeared from the wall of grass, head whipping left and right. _First thing is to get it into view, then choose a tactic to suit the Pokemon type. _

"Ember attack Fury, flush it out of the long grass!" A weak flash of her first learnt attack and the Pokemon leapt squealing into view, pupils wide with alarm. It looked very much like the one in I'd seen in my textbooks, as there were no Sentret in the Metone region but I had memorised its information anyway. Better safe than sorry, I directed the Pokedex sensor at it in case it had been updated since those textbooks were written. 

"Sentret, the Scout Pokemon. Very cautious, it raises itself up by using its tail to get a better view of its surroundings."

'Fury! Ready for you first battle!" Fury gave a long triumphant _Quuuuuuiiilll!, _her paw bunched into a threatening fist at the muddled Pokemon.__

"_Hahahah_," she scoffed. _"Its going to be way to easy too hit this thing. He's even got a built in target!_"

But while Fury laughed, Sentret lost its wild and frightened expression and aimed his attack too late for Fury to dodge. He surged forward and struck her again and again with his paws, puncturing each contact with a "_Tret-tret-tret!"_ A fury swipes attack!

"Fight back with ember!" I ordered. Fury wheeled around with her back facing the panting Sentret, who lined up his paws again. Unprepared, the spluttering flames caught Sentret and wrapped around him like a blanket. When they vanished, it left the soot coated Sentret right and ready for me to capture. 

"Pokeball go!" I hurled it with everything I could muster and it struck him a glancing blow. It was enough and Sentret was absorbed into the ball as a red light. It rocked, once, twice, three times and went still. I waited eagerly and at last it gave a glorious PING! I caught my first Pokemon! 

"Yes! You little beauty!" I whooped racing forward and snatching Fury up by her tummy and tossing her into the air. "We captured our first Pokemon!" I cried as I caught her.

_"Please, I get air sick_!" the Cyndaquil groaned as I threw her higher, somersaulting before landing in my cradled arms again.  

"Think about it Fury, that was the first step on the way to becoming a true blue legend! You and me all the way, ay?" I put her down, squatting and showing her Sentret's Pokeball proudly. After returning to town to have him healed, I fitted him with his own translation device and a hip new collar. He scrapped at it happily with all four feet rocking on his back as he watched it glitter in the sun. I wanted to get in a little more training before lunch time so I encouraged him to help search. It was only a matter of minutes with his keen Sentret vision and strong tail before another was spotted.

"_Topaz_!" Target called in his shrill voice lost amongst the bushes. When I arrived puffing, I was _sooo_ out of shape, Sentret was already dodging and dancing and trading blows with another Pokemon.

"A Pidgey!" I exclaimed as I recognized the brown bird. _It was perfect for the beginning trainer because of its calm nature,_ my head recited from the guidebook, and it would evolve into a Pidgeot I had only admired from afar before. Also a flying type would be the ideal type to add to my newly formed team. 

"Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokemon. It would rather defend itself than attack. Kicks up blinding dust to escape."

"Not this Pidgey! Target, quick attack."  With a running jump Target slammed Pidgey with tremendous speed that I only saw it as an eclipse of movement. Pidgey countered with its quick attack and they both collided with such force they both fainted. A few seconds and a Pokeball later, I had my second Pokemon.

"_We're hot today_!" Fury twittered from my pack as we returned to the PokeCentre for the second time that day. I rolled both full Pokeballs in my hand. Fury was also coming along well too, challenging a few Pokemon I didn't intend on capturing, only for experience. 

"I reckon we're ready to go to the next town. As soon as Talon's healed we'll start on Route 30," I ventured gazing dreamily at the gift of a day around me. Life was good.

"Hey!!!" I stared, halting in my tracks. It stared back. From a far off tree perched a lone sentry, a Pidgeot. Even from the distance I could feel its intense eyes on me. Oh it was beautiful, just as beautiful as the ones back home. With my breath caught in my throat, I desperately wanted to try my hand at its capture, but as if sensing my thoughts, it launched into the air, pumping its powerful wings for altitude before catching a thermal and soaring out of sight behind the trees.

"Ohhwhoa!" I moaned staring after it. What was a wild Pidgeot doing out here? It was probably some master trainer hanging around to pick of the newbies. I thought miserably.

"_Whatcha whining about? You can evolve Talon can't you?"_ Fury tried to comfort me on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess," I said reluctantly, trudging towards the PokeCentre. When Talon was healed I felt a little more hopeful. He certainly was hungry for battle. I released him inside the PokeCentre and the first thing he did was challenge a Paras. It ducked timidly behind its protective trainer, an uppity teenage girl who thought a five minute lecture was in order. I apologised profusely, sweeping each of my three Pokemon into my arms and hurrying outside. I consulted the map and after some time, I figured which way north was, tried for the north gate and Route 30.

I took barely three steps when from behind sprang a little kid, he could only have gotten his license days ago.

"Hey!" he called, tossing his Pokeball cockily from hand to hand. "I just caught my first Pokemon and I'm ready for a battle!"

My hands went to my hips unimpressed, swishing my long blue ponytail of my shoulder with a playful smirk. "Sure, but better be prepared to lose my impertinent little friend. Go Fury!" 

Fury bounded from my shoulder, poised for battle, mimicking my smug posture.

'Go Rattata, tackle attack now!" the little boy ordered, thrusting his finger at her.

Without me asking, Fury exhaled a cloud of smoke, a smokescreen attack, and the Rattata raced by, missing her by inches as a patch of blue darted around. She snarled, ramming the Rattata's side as it passed. 

"Now Ember!" A dim flame still learning to be controlled licked out and the Rattata wailed from inside the plume, fainting with a thump

"_Another victory_!" Fury's outburst had startled the trainer before he realized she was using a translator. He grumbled but handed over our winning stash. We continued on our way, my Pokemon defeating three more trainers, without a single casualty, and as the day ended we set up camp for our first night on our own. It was wonderful watching the sun sink in the western edge of the sky in a haze of pink and orange, knowing you only had yourself to rely on.

Fury set the fire while I cooked a dished out some Pokechow into some plastic bowls, releasing my two new Pokemon, Target and Talon. After I finished shovelling the last mouthful in I turned thoughtful, asking my Pokemon what it was like to live in the wild. As it turned out, both Target and Talon were no more than children that had just ventured to far from their families. 

"A trained Pokemon is stronger than a wild one," I explained, trying to reason why they were better off with me, though it felt a little half hearted. Luckily, they took it in stride.

"_If I return one day, I'll be able to beat the rest of my friends easy,"_ crowd Talon, lifting his own with a menacing gleam in his eye. "_I mean, how many wild Pidgeot's are there? I learnt more today then I had in month!"_

I nodded pleased. I think Talon was referring to when he had learnt its whirlwind attack when we battled a pretty tough bug trainer. 

_"She's a great trainer. I bet if we stick with her we'll make it to the Elite Four,_" Fury chipped in, clapping her paws together.

I grinned, falling into silent ponderings, gazing affectionately at the three as they took off for a game of tag amongst the trees around off, darting in and out with gleeful cries. Now was the time to devise a strategy of how I would take on the League. It was proven the 90% of Trainers that set themselves a goal to achieve, like capturing all Pokemon, or being a Gymleader, or even to become Master, no matter how difficult it is to accomplish do far better than those wandering aimlessly. I frowned in deep thought, I didn't know what I wanted to be, only that I wanted to bring out the best in my Pokemon.

_Well, the first thing could be earn at least eight badges to enter the Pokemon League,_ I thought slowly, stirring my spoon around my second helping. I looked at it with distaste.

_"_Yo Talon," I called," you want more?"

He gave a greedy chirp and burst from the branches to land with hopeful eyes at his dish. As he bent his head to scoop out some of the reddish orange pellets, a voice rang, bouncing of the trees. I shot to my feet with fright, readying my fists. Even Target and Fury stopped what they were doing to peer warily around them.

"_HootHoot_!" The branches rattled above and a silhouetted Pokemon glided down, landing sluggishly with a hop skip and a jump, the single foot clamping onto Fury's bow and gobbling down her leftovers without pausing for air. I gawked amazed that a wild Pokemon would come so close to an open fire, especially with a so obvious Pokemon trainer around. After she finished with Fury's she made her way to Target's, both Pokemon too stunned to move. Then after a second's deliberation she made a pass at Talon's share, snapping her beak angrily but the Pidgey blocked the way, flaring his own wings in a scare tactic.

_"Don't even think about it you little..._" But the threat fell flat on HootHoot. Her eyes flashed brightly and tackled the blind Talon aside, gulping it down frantically. Outraged, Talon lunged for the ravenous Pokemon and bludgeoning her head on. HootHoot squawked tumbling into a near by tree and hopping around dizzily. She glared cross-eyed at Talon, springing forward to devour his food yet again. The whole thing held me entranced. This time Talon ripped at HootHoot with his clawed feet until she was fainted on the ground. 

Recovering from the surprise, I plucked one of the spare Pokeballs on my hair tie and tapped it on the unconscious Pokemon. It bounced in my hand but remained shut. When it signalled the successful capture. I rolled it in the dying light, the orange glare pooling on us. "I didn't know you had such a temper Talon," I said finally.

"_That was mine!" _he answered defensively.__

"Hey, I understand. That's the way it was around my place, first in best dressed. I wonder why she wouldn't give up?" I released HootHoot from her Pokeball and revived her using a potion and set her own share of Pokemon Chow before her. While she shook off the effects I snapped a translator around her neck and asked why she was so hungry.

She looked at me suspiciously, finishing her meal before answering, eyes flicking around the forest. "Yesterday morning a boy was chasing me, he wouldn't give up. Every time I tried to rest he came at me with his Wartortle. I finally lost them just before and I haven't eaten in two days and now I'm still caught!"

Wartortle! That meant Tobias was around here somewhere, it made me just as cagey as her! 

_"Don't worry HootHoot. Topaz is a great trainer and you'll never be hungry again,"_ Target squeaked enthusiastically, rubbing his round little tummy. _"But now your part of the team, you need a name too."_

_"What if I don't want a new name?" _she snapped, still no happier.

"Then you don't get one. HootHoot's fine with me." I reassured. "Anyway its time for bed." 

_"What if I don't want a bed time?"_ she demanded sulkily.

"Well too bad."

_"Hang on,"_ Fury snorted. "_What do you mean? You're out on your own, you don't need a bedtime."_

"I do if I have to get up early."

I recalled my Pokemon even the petulant HootHoot, and slipped into my sleeping bag with Fury. I thought about my first day as a trainer. _I'm pretty good and I'm only going to get better_ I thought to myself. Also tomorrow I could fight my first Gymbadge.

**_Rewritten: 20/9/2003_**


	2. WOC 2

_Hey guys, nice to see yis are back! Wanta tell me how you like the story? Try shirasharmi@hotmail.com _ Rival's Return 

I opened my eyes and yawned. I love sleeping; it's got to be the most relaxing thing the world. I checked my watch.

"9:56! Fury, why'd you let me sleep in? You knew I wanted to start training early," I frowned.

"You looked tired."

"Most people do when they're sleeping. Damn, we better get going if we want to get to Violet city before dark." I packed up quickly and loped down the down the path to Violet.

It was an exciting day filled battles. Not one my Pokemon had lost a single match and from what Dex said, Fury was on the verge of evolving. HootHoot was settling into the group just fine and I think even Talon was starting to like her. 

At the end of the day, the sun began to fade and it didn't look like we were going to make it to Violet before night set in. 

As we entered the clearing I felt a cold chill. It was too quiet. Suddenly to my left I noticed a blur of blue movement, the only indication of the oncoming attack. The blur crashed into my stomach with such force it squeezed the air from my lungs. My mind reeled as my pack with Fury inside slipped from my shoulder and I collapsed to the ground. As I sucked in a pained breath I looked up. Tobias and Wartortle stood over me, cackling at my distress.

"Hello Topaz. Isn't it a surprise to see you here." He smiled an emotionless smile and continued. "So, how's my Cyndaquil going? It was so nice of you to look after it for a while, but now I've come to take the little rat back." I glared at him and said nothing. "What? Nothing from that smart aleck tongue of yours." 

"You want me to say something, fine. Go Hoot Hoot!" As I was about to release the Pokeball, Tobias's boot slammed down on my wrist with immense agony and the Pokeball rolled out of my reach.

"A Hoot Hoot, Topaz? That's now two Pokemon you've stolen from me." Tobias grinned menacingly. "That means twice the beating." His boot connected with the back of my head and my vision swam. As I tried to get up he lashed out twice more kicking me where no one likes to be kicked, making it impossible to stand. 

I gazed up at him. "No, I'm not going to kill you Topaz. Just beat you within an inch of your life."

Then from beneath my pack Fury roared and leapt at Tobias, letting loose a series of slash and bite attacks. 

"Ah, here's my rat. Play dead!" He laughed, grabbing her from his pants leg and threw her at a near by tree. 

"_Topaz_!" Fury cried to me.

"Fury!" I scrambled to my feet but while I was off balance, Tobias's fist caught me in the hollow of my throat and I plunged to the ground again. "Fury!" I wheezed, gasping for air. Little by little, I inched my way to where Fury had fallen. Each time I tried to get up, Tobias beat me to the ground again. After numerous blows, I finally made it to Fury. She lay by the tree, senseless.

"Fury ," I whispered and held her close.

"That's my rat!" Tobias screamed, drunken with rage and pummelled me with kick after kick to my head and back. I'll be pissing blood for a week, I giggled as the pain began to dim and my thoughts started to swoon. But that didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that my Pokemon were safe. I groaned as Tobias bashed my kidneys again.

Suddenly Fury stirred. She saw my face contorted with pain and an amazing thing happened. Fury began to glow with a soft white light. The white light became brighter and covered her whole body like a veil of newly fallen snow. The light became more radiant until it became unbearable and I had to shut my eyes. When I regained my vision Fury wasn't a Cyndaquil any longer, it had transformed into something more agile and muscular. Quilava, I recalled vaguely.

Fury's new body sprang at Tobias with newfound courage and resolve. As the saying went, _God hath no fury like a woman scorned_. She fought like a mad dog, keeping both 

Tobias and Wartortle at bay. While Wartortle rushed in from one side to tackle her she bounded aside and Tobias took the hit. He stumbled backward, out of the match for the moment. 

Wartortle and Fury traded blow, each getting as good as it gave. Then the Wartortle tripped, leaving an opening for Fury to take advantage of. She turned and a flood flames roared over Wartortle and when the flames were lifted, they revealed a charred Pokemon. Wartortle wasn't dead it would just be in intensive care for a while. 

But Tobias wasn't finished yet. Just as I had been catching Pokemon, so had he and a Geodude appeared from his Pokeball. Oh no, Fury doesn't have a chance against a rock type. That's when Tobias got back to me. "I'll show you whose boss!" he yelled in my face and his backhand whipped across my nose. Blood flowed freely.

Again another surprise came from nowhere. A torrent of water, a wisp of a vine, and a flash of pearly white teeth. But the last blow from Tobias had sapped the last of my resolve to stay awake and lapsed into unconsciousness.

"_Beep, beep, beep, beep._" I swatted at my alarm but my hand ached. Why'd I turn on my alarm, I never turn on my alarm?

"Nurse, she's awake!" I peeled my eyes open to the harsh white lights of the hospital and remembered what had happened. 

My eyes widened in fear. "Tobias, where is he?"

"He escaped Topaz. Ashlee, Adam and Sumalee didn't make it in time to catch him," Fury whispered I glanced down the end of my bed to see my friends and Pokemon, Fury, Target, Talon and.... "Where's Hoot Hoot?"

The Asian girl who had chose Totodile answered. "I'm sorry Topaz, but Tobias took HootHoot with him." Now I not only felt sore and weak as a kitten, but worthless too. I swore to protect my Pokemon and now one of them was in the hands of a madman.

"_You couldn't have done anything about it, you were defending Fury_," Talon said.  

My Pokemon's support made me feel a little better but I was till smarting from the beating. I shifted position but it released a whole new wave of pain. "How long till I'm better."

"You should be well within a few days, Topaz," the nurse acknowledged. "But if I were you, I'd watch out for that boy, he's mad. If your friends hadn't come along you would most likely have permanent damage, or worse."

"Thank you nurse. Can I be alone with my friends now?"

"Of course, but they'll have to leave when visiting time is over." She puffed my pillow once more and left the room.

"So what happened?" I asked as my friends came closer and Fury curled up beside me.

Adam began. "We heard fighting up ahead and thought it was a battle and could grab some tips. When we entered the clearing we saw Quilava attacking Tobias's Pokemon, 

Geodude, Spearow and Spinarak, and was beating them all! We knew she wouldn't have been doing it without a good reason. That's when we saw Tobias beating you up. We released our Pokemon to help Quilava and tried to help you but Tobias wouldn't quit. I tell you, he's insane. We finally had to stop him with brute force. That's when he grabbed your Hoot Hoot, and ran. His Pokemon were released back into the wild."

Sumalee sighed. "But not before swearing revenge. He totally lost it." 

"Saying he lost it is implying he had it in the first place. Well," I said trying to cheer everyone up from the sullen mood. "How are your Pokemon going." 

It worked brilliantly. "Ours aren't as advanced as yours," Ashlee said. "But I caught a Ledyba and a Caterpie."

"I've got a Spinarak and Aipom," Adam told me eagerly as he saw my questioning look. "Aipom is this monkey thing with a hand on its tail. Its a good fighter."

"What about you Sumalee, anything interesting? Hows Totodile?"

"I nicknamed him Maverick. He's frustrating! He bites anything and everything, including my hair! You have got to tell me where you got the translators; maybe then I'll be able to understand him. Other than that he's great! He's a strong fighter and affectionate. I've caught a Sentret like yours, a Spearow and female Nidoran."

"How did you know I've got a Sentret?" I asked curious. She rolled her eyes and nodded to the end of the bed. 

"Topaz, we found you two days ago. You've been asleep since then so we decided to let your Pokemon out for a run," 

Ashlee explained, tapping on the hospital bed. "The nurse says you'll be allowed out the day after tomorrow anyway."

I groaned. We chatted a while longer and then they had to go.  My Pokemon huddled close and I prepared for an uncomfortable night.

Two excruciating day later, after a final check over, my friends showed me out the door.  When I got outside I saw we were in Violet City. 

"Hey this place has a gym, doesn't it?" I said excited. I could earn my first Gymbadge, another step on the way to Indigo Plateau and the Elite Four.

"Yeah we were going to challenge the Gymleader today," 

Ashlee answered. "But I don't think all four of us will be able to at the same time."  

"Eh," I shrugged. "I'm going to train some more. You two can go first," I said, indicating to Adam and Ashlee.

"Good, I know I'm gonna win." Adam grinned with the same confidence I'd seen the day we met.

"Eh," I repeated.

A little later me, Fury, Maverick and Sumalee, dressed in a sleeveless red T-shirt with a picture of a Charizard printed on it with a love heart shaped fireball in the background and the words 'Charizard Chick' printed underneath, and a pair of dark blue jeans, were wandering around town checking out the sights. Every now and again I'd stagger, as a pang would stutter through my body. Sumalee was very patient with me, as I often had to stop for rest. 

"You know you should have stayed in the hospital another day, you're not completely healed. Your so lucky Tobias didn't kill you," she remarked, a note of sympathy in her voice.

Great, pity. If there is one thing I can't stand, its pity. It's only for those who are so depressed; they droop as low as to suicide. 

"I'm fine," I growled through gritted teeth, a little annoyed with everyone asking me the same questions over and over. Are you OK? Will you be all right? You're sure you can make it on your own? I should have just recorded my answer on tape and play it over and over again.

When I had the strength to go on, we had made it to the stairs Belsprout Temple. The Belsprout Temple was a big tourist attraction because its centre pillar swayed like a Belsprout, hence the name. It was also a big hit with trainers as it reminded them that once they where as unstable as the supporting beam.

"Weird," Fury said as she, unintentionally I think, swayed in time with the beam.

"Yeah," and I too began weave left and right without meaning to. I looked at the plaque.

The Belsprout Pillar 

It is said that a 100 foot tall Belsprout

was frozen in place and the Temple was

built around it. It is now a place of training.

"Let's go," I said already making my way up the stairs. A place of training, perfect. I can battle the people inside and be ready for the Violet Gymleader this afternoon. We climbed the first flight of stairs to see a man dressed in pure white shirts with long draping sleeves and grey pleated skirts kneeling before a marble statue of Belsprout. 

The one leading the ceremony looked up from the dais. "You are here for training?"

"Yeah, who do I battle first," I said eagerly, readying my Pokeballs.

"Battle? Oh, you mean Pokemon. I'm sorry but this is a place of training the mind, body and spirit. But our master is upstairs with another young trainer now. I can take you too him." He then led us another flight of stairs, down a winding passage, a maze of corridors, when we finally reached the last door in the hallway.

"My master is inside. I must return to my prayers." The man gave a curt nod and disappeared into the labyrinth.

"Well," Sumalee shrugged. "If we're going in, now is as good any." She opened the door for me and followed my entrance. 

I gasped and abruptly stepped backwards. Sumalee slammed into me, I tripped over Fury and Fury landed on Maverick. The four of us dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Tobias," I hissed as my rival stood before me grinning like a Jack-o'-lantern. I clambered to my feet to stand face to face with my rival. Well more like chest to face, but I still looked him in the eye. 

"What are you doing here? All the Officer Jenny's in the city are searching looking for you." Sumalee now stood behind Fury and me poised in front, ready for the slightest hint of danger.  

Tobias gave a cool look of contempt. "I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice." I held my tongue, not wanting to invoke his wrath again. "If I take you on again it will be in a fair Pokemon battle.  As for being here, I needed this." He waved a scroll in face. "Its the Flash HM. You need it to get through Union cave and onto my next Badge."

"You have the Violet City Gymbadge. They have a goddamn manhunt after you and you waltzed in and defeated Faulkner. What kind of people do they have in the force!"

"What can I say," he said airily.

"How about sorry. You beat me half to death," I cried incredulous. 

'HootHoot did very well earning the Zephyr Badge. He even evolved into Noctowl," he said changing the subject to spite me. 

That's when I lost my temper. I swept my leg beneath his feet as I did the first time we met. He crashed to the floor and I was on him in a second with my hands around is throat. 

"That's my Hoot Hoot!" I hissed again, my voice full of malice. A hand grasped me by the shoulder and tore me away from Tobias. 

"Stop it! There will be no fighting in this house of worship. Tobias! Go before you cause me more trouble." 

Another monk like man pulled me to my feet.

"But Hoot Hoot, he stole my Hoot Hoot," I cried reaching for Tobias but my hands only snapped on thin air. Tobias only let out one long cackle and was lost in the maze of corridors. Defeated again. What kind of lousy trainer am I? I let my Pokemon get away for a second time.

"Calm down young one, I am Sage Li. I suspect you are here for the Flash HM." I looked up to see a decrepit old man with a kind face. It bought me back to the present. 

"Sumalee," I whispered. "If Tobias needs to get through Union Cave, so do we. I'm gonna get that HM." 

I turned to him. "Yes. Can I have it?"

The Master chortled. "If you want the HM, I'd first like to test the bond you share with your Pokemon in a battle. If you win I will give you Flash." He took then a compressed Pokeball from his skirt pocket and smiled a wily smile. "Game?"

"You bet." I chose a Pokeball from my belt and readied for his first move. If my judgment were correct, I'd win this easy. "Go Belsprout!" he called as he tossed the Pokeball into the centre of the room. 

Right again. "I choose you, Fury!" Fury leapt across the room to stand opposite Belsprout. "Since I have type advantage, you can go first," I offered.

"Belsprout, Sweet Scent!" the Sage ordered his Pokemon. The Belsprout fluttered its tiny leaves and an enticing smell wafted across the room, disarming Fury. "Now use your Acid." Belsprout spat deep purple glue in Fury's eyes and she howled in pain.

When I could bear it no longer I recalled her. "Fury you tried your best, return. Its your turn Talon!" The Pidgey escaped from his ball in a wave of red light, hovering above Belsprout's.

"Sweet Scent again," Li, bellowed but this time I was ready.

"Gust, blow the smell back at Belsprout." It worked. The Belsprout staggered like it was stoned out of its mind. "Now Double Edge." Talon plummeted at it with tremendous speed, hammering it with both wings.

"Bel Bel Belsprout," it rasped but sank to the ground defeated. 

"Type does not always win the match child, remember that." Sage Li released his second Pokemon, another Belsprout. It looked stronger then the first, more experienced. 

"Talon, Tackle." Talon glided across the floor but as it reached the Belsprout, it jumped, landing unharmed on Talons back. Without even an order, its vine like feet wrapped around the Pidgey's neck. Talon didn't like it one bit. 

He danced around the room weaving in and out trying to throw his opponent loose, but Belsprout held tight. Belsprout then played dirty and clasped its leaf appendages over 

Talons eyes. He crashed into the wall but managed relieve itself of Belsprout. He pivoted to face Belsprout and slapped it across the room with its Wing Attack. Already weak from hitting the wall head on, it fainted dead away.

"How many Pokemon do you have left Sage Li?" I asked. Talon was staring to tire and if the Master of Belsprout temple had another Belsprout, Target only had a slim chance of winning. 

"I will make this my last Pokemon. If you defeat it, you win the Flash HM." He chose his last Pokemon with care and I had a feeling it wasn't another Belsprout. "Pokeball go!" 

A HootHoot appeared from its Pokeball, staring malevolently at Talon. It let out a piercing screeched and beam of red energy hit my Pokemon. His shadow highlighted within the blast. He shrieked, I screamed, HootHoot yelled in triumph. 

Thump, Talon hit the ground. 

"Return, Talon," I said mournfully, now I didn't have a chance. Talon rolled away from the beam of light that would recall him back to his Pokeball. "I said, Return," and tried again to get him inside his ball and rest. Again he stumbled aside. 

"Look Talon, maybe you don't get the whole Pokemon, Trainer thing. When I say Return it means get back in your Pokeball so you can heal. Now don't be difficult."

"Stubborn as you are," Sumalee whispered, suppressing a giggle.

_"I am not stubborn! I just don't know the meaning of failure!"  _

Talon murmured and began to glow, surrounding his whole body as it did Fury.

As quickly as the glow appeared, it vanished. In Talons place was a healthy Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto! Now do you think I can win." He scuttled across the room to look down at Hoot Hoot. "BOO!" he shouted and knocked it flying with a flap of his newly formed wings.

The match was over and I acted with prestige and dignity. "Ha ha! I won I won I won. You didn't, I did. Now that HM is mine!"

Sage Li graciously and handed over the scroll. "You are skilled for a trainer so young. I must say I'm impressed because a Pokemon reflects its trainer's personality. In that one battle I now know you to be compassionate and understanding, as well as stubborn as a Stantler." 

Sumalee nodded but I fixed that quick with a well-aimed elbow. As we left the temple, Sumalee studied the parchment that the HM was written on.

"Looks like a series of instructions," Sumalee ciphered as Pidgeotto flew above on his more efficient wings. Fury moaned again in my arms.

"Don't worry Fury, we'll be at the PokeCentre soon and they can get that gak out of your eyes," I reassured her in a soothing voice.

"Why not just use an Antidote," Sumalee said like she was saying something as obvious as putting your right shoe on your right foot.

"Smart aleck," I replied fishing one out of my bag. I sprayed it over Fury's face and it dissolved in an instant. Technology had come far since the days of the current Elite Four Champion, Ash Ketchum.

We arrived at the PokeCentre, and sat and waited for Adam and Ashlee to return. After a while Nurse Joy noticed us. I'll never understand the parents of the Nurse Joy's and 

Officer Jenny's. Who would be that idiotic to name their identical daughters after their exact replica cousins. Another thing that annoys me is that they're always so optimistic. And that's how this one greeted us.

"You must be Sumalee and Topaz," she smiled with the grin plastered over her face as she took our Pokeballs. "I've a message here for you from Adam and Ashlee." She handed Sumalee the letter and disappeared into the back room. 

"What does it say," I said trying unsuccessfully to peer over her shoulder.

"They left without us!" Sumalee exclaimed. "Adam and Ashlee beat Faulkner and got impatient waiting for us so they left for Azalea Town."

But before I could answer me Cell phone chirped. "Hey! The Amazing Moltres speaking," I quipped, using a nickname I had at school because of my love of fire types. A picture of 

Professor Elm flashed on to the screen.

"Amazing Moltres?" Suma snorted. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"So I've got big plans for my future!" I retorted indignant.

Professor Elm decided to humour me. "Miss Moltres I'm glad you recovered from Master Tobias's, er..."

"Beating," I supplied with an angry flush at the thought of that wacko with my Noctowl.

"Yes, as you can see his mother is quite upset." The screen focused on a woman behind him sobbing into a tissue, her long purple hair falling into her red, puffy eyes. Her husband, who resembled Tobias more, sought to comfort her.

"I'm not dead," I said worried about the woman. It wasn't her fault her son was a nut case. But than again, the rotten apple never falls far from the tree. "Tell her I'm fine and I don't blame her."

"Ah, yes. She is sorry about that, but a few minutes ago we received word that Tobias had joined the nefarious Team Rocket."

"But that's impossible," I interrupted, remembering my childhood story books telling how the great Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu defeated them in Saffron City of Kanto saving Silph Co, a great corporation into creating amazing Pokemon technology. If he had failed, the world would almost definitely be under the Rockets control. "Ash destroyed them eight years ago."

"So we thought but it seems that they have been lying in the dark corners of Johto building strength. Their leader Giovanni has not yet surfaced so for now we are safe. But I stray from what I wanted to talk to you about. The Mysterious Egg Adam and Ashlee delivered, it seems that and egg hatches more quickly when it is with an active team of Pokemon."

"And you want us to look after it?" Sumalee said from over my shoulder.

Professor Elm nodded. "It would be very much appreciated." I looked at Suma and she shook her head vigorously. "We don't think we could look after it but," I said thoughtfully. "We could pass it on to Ashlee."

"Thank you Miss Moltres. My assistant baring the egg will be there by this afternoon. Good luck earning the Zephyr Badge." Professor Elm nodded good-bye and the screen went blank. After a while I turned to see a teenage boy, maybe a bit older than Sumalee and I, with deep blue hair, a lock hiding one eye. His bulky white shirt and formal pleated skirt did nothing to hinder his quickened pace. His dour expression brightened as Nurse Joy appeared from the back with a hand full of Pokeballs. I recognized one as Fury's with a flame etched into it and Mavericks teardrop.

"Good afternoon Faulkner," Nurse Joy greeted him with the same broad smile she did us. Faulkner! if I wanted to enter the Indigo League, he was obstacle obstructing my path. "From the looks of it someone just broke your winning streak."

"Two, and another kid stole a badge," he answered sullenly. "Yesterday was my 38th win too." 

Sumalee jumped in. "Faulkner I challenge you to a match, so that I may earn the Zephyr badge." 

Faulkner looked her up and down and sighed. "As an official Gymleader of the Johto League, accept your challenge." He then saw me, propped up on my elbows so I could reach over the counter to receive my Pokemon.

"And I guess you want to battle me too?"

"Yep," I answered nonchalantly as Fury appeared form her Pokeball in a flash of red light.

"_I hate Pokeballs_!" she immediately complained, shacking herself like a bedraggled dog but instead of being sprayed with water droplets, and sparks seared our skin.

"Cut it out Fury!" I cried patting out a tiny flame that had erupted in my hair. "Besides I thought Pokemon liked being in their Pokeballs."

_"Not if you're claustrophobic!_"  It made me think what it was like inside a Pokeball, I'd always imagined it as the ball lined with soft cushions, a place to rest and heal from the hurts of the last battle. And when a Pokemon is recalled it looked like a beam of energy. How can energy get claustrophobic?

"Well this is Faulkner and we're going for our first badge."

"Great lets go!" 


	3. WOC 3

On the Wings of Council 

Fifteen minutes later, Sumalee, Faulkner, Fury and I were in the elevator of a plush hotel in the South west of the city.

"We're going to battle in a lift?" I said sceptically.

"No, my gym is on the roof of the hotel. It helps when training my birds."

The elevator then pinged the arrival of the top floor and the doors slide open.__

_"Hey Faulkner. For a Flying trainer, you sure have a funny idea of sky._" Fury cracked.  

Faulkner strode to the end of the pale blue hallway and opened a similar colored door. "This is the floor below the roof. One of you 

will have to stay in my room until our battle is finished. It wouldn't be fair." 

The door swung open revealing a rich blue carpeted lounge room with wicker chairs matching blue cushions facing a medium sized 

TV. On the walls were pictures of various flying type Pokemon. 

"Who challenges me first?"

"You can Suma," I said eyeing the modern kitchen and what snacks it could hold within. "I wanna checkout the easy life this 

Gymleader has."

Faulkner fixed me with a steady gaze. "Don't touch anything."

"Yeah, yeah. Good luck Suma." Faulkner glanced at Fury and me one more time and started to shut the door. 

"We won't touch." I reassured him. The door closed. "Much." I studied the room more closely. Everything seemed pretty 

expensive. 

"_I guess you earn quite a bit as a Gymleader," _Fury whistled.

I made myself comfortable in one of the cane chairs and flicked on the TV. 

"Go Pikachu!" said the trainer on the screen. "Thundershock!" 

A blast of electricity flowed from its cheek striking its opponent, a Belsprout. The attack did little damage.

"Ha, that puny electric attack won't do a thing to Belsprout. As its roots are in contact with the earth the electricity is grounded," 

the girl explained. "You'll have to find another way to beat me Ash." 

Ash! Oh, I remember. They had Ash's adventures animated. This was one of my favourite episodes. It told of how he beat a tough 

trainer with his Muk, during the first time he entered the Indigo League. I continued to watch the cartoon, which held 

me enthralled.

"Hey Topaz! Come quick." I followed Furies voice to find her in what appeared to be Faulkner's study. A huge bookcase lined one 

wall. Volumes of encyclopaedias filled up one shelf and Classic Pokemon Journeys, like Lance the Dragon Trainer and Tracy 

Sketchit. Magazine issues of The Pokemon Profile, Highflyers Guide and Pocket Pals were scattered across a huge wooden desk 

that was set up in the corner.

But that wasn't what held Fury in awe. I gasped at the sight of it. Inside an elaborate wooden frame was a beautiful portraits of 

various birds arranged into a pyramid shape, each had an ambiance that demanded respect. I recognized three of them as the 

Legendary Bird Trio of Kanto, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. But who were the others?

At the bottom of the painting in elegant calligraphy were the words.

The Wings of Council

"The Wings of Council," I muttered to myself and my Pokedex reacted within my pocket.

"The Wings of Council. The Wings of Council consists of the 10 Legendary birds said to meet 

once a decade to discuss the fate of the world."

"Sounds heavy," Fury muttered as I pointed my Pokedex at the bird in the bottom left corner of the pyramid. The bird winked on to 

the screen of my Pokedex displaying its entire body.

Its hawk like appearance commanded power. Its body was turned side on but one could clearly see the small silver stars on the tip 

of each feather giving the illusion of the night sky. The effect spread to its illustrious wings that swept behind it, each feather ended 

in a jagged point. But the most striking feature was its head, tilted to one side so its eye seemed to see you as a potential meal. 

Its hooked beak was that of any predator, made to shred and was slightly open revealing the black chasm of its throat. Completing 

its savage appearance was its crest. You know when you stroke a Persian the wrong way? It started like collar at the base of the 

neck and as crawled forward, it narrowed until it was like a single row of feathers that ended just above the eyes. I knew it was a 

bird of awesome abilities.

"Celestrial, the shadow bird Pokemon. Said that as it flies over the world it brings darkness. 

When it moults one of its star tipped feathers, who ever catches it will have their fondest 

wish granted. They are thought to be found in the vicinity of Mt. Sable."

"What do you mean, they?" I asked confused. 

"Legendary birds are classed as legendary not because they are rare, but because of their 

awesome strength. The most powerful, have even been known to escape Master Balls."

Then I guess mines out of the question, I sighed inwardly. I shifted the angle of the Pokedex so its censer was aimed at the 

Pokemon beside it and an owl of lavender, lilac and violet replaced Celestrial. Its body leaned forward and wing partly open, as if 

ready to flee at any moment, thought it obviously had no need too. Its heart shaped face was of the palest purple imaginable, while 

its eyes and beak added startling contrast. Its eyes, even though a painting, seemed to pierce my soul. It saw my greatest 

triumphs, my most miserable failures and most embarrassing moments. On its amethyst coloured breast was pentagram in a 

shining purple.

"Archimedes, the Wisdom bird Pokemon. Said to be the reincarnation of the oracle of Delphi as 

it seems to know the fate of all men and the destiny of the world. Is thought to reside in the 

ruins of Alph though none have confirmed the sighting."

"Another dead end," I muttered to Fury who was engrossed in the Moltres the legendary fire type. I shifted my gaze to the next 

bird. It seemed more mischievous, than dangerous or all knowing. It was perched upon ancient spear with exotic carvings scrawled 

over it. Its body was of emerald green, ruby red and black feathers but was dominated by green, which looked more like leaves 

than feathers. Its wings were thrust outwards and bands of green and red followed the contours of the inside of the wing, while the 

rest of the feathers were alternating black and green. Its body was a plump green pear with a crimson stripe down the centre. Two 

black feathers jutted out of its head so they looked like antennae. Its tail was a glorious thing, plumes of green and red arched 

above the legendary birds head then fell away on either side to trail beside its feet.

"Echotrance, the rain bird Poke...." 

CRACK! Pain retched through my skull and I fell away into darkness.

Rocket Rampant 

I groaned. Why did I always have to wake up with a splitting headache?

I realized consciousness, and found I was swaying rhythmically by two pairs of hands. My sides strained as my arms were held in 

crucifix posture. It reminded me of when my mates and me back home would play washing machine at the public pool. Mel would 

grab my ankles and Jess would take my wrists and they swung me back and forth, each time dunking me under and holding me 

down longer. 

The harsh light hurt my eyes and I struggled to get into a comfortable position but felt I was bound at the wrist and ankles.

" Tobias, she's awake." I jerked up at the cold voice that held my ankles.

"Ahh, Topaz," he smiled a sickly sweet smile that reminded me of Nurse Joy. "I see you returned to the land of the living."

"From the smell, you didn't." Tobias flared and spat in my face. I tensed my shoulder and manage to wipe most of the spit from my 

eye. 

"What happened to not being stupid enough to try this again?" I said seriously, trying to understand his plan. If he just wanted 

Fury he would have left me and nicked off, there had to be something more.

"I said I, not we. I joined Team Rocket and Angel was assigned as my partner and he is as able as I."

"So now with your combined brain power you think you can get what you paid for at a Mind Readers."

This time he dropped me. My head slapped against the concrete and once again my consciousness ebbed away.

This time when I awoke, I was dangling precociously 20 stories above the ground from the roof of Violet Cities Gym. My arms 

dangled above, or were they below? my head. The ground spiralled beneath me and I felt ready to taste my breakfast for the 

second time that day. One of those people down there better have an umbrella I thought and gulped again. My temples throbbed 

as the pressure built up around my ears.

All of a sudden I heard Fury's muffled cry and the vines that that held me yanked me up. I fell to my knees dizzy. I gasped as the 

blood drained from my face and looked up to see Angel, a boy no more than 15. His pale white hair fell about face, hanging in his 

crystal blue eyes. No light seemed to shine in them. Beware the man without a sense of humour. He was of slighter build than 

Tobias, but no less ruthless. It was obvious he had to use brains over brawn. He was patient; he would wait for years if he thought 

it would increase the yield of his crop. He had a complex intellect so he could create cunning plans. Dressed in Team Rockets 

black pants and jacket with the red R emblazoned upon it, he was anything but an Angel. Beside him was an Ivysaur.

"Now Topaz," Angel said. "We can do this the easy way, you hand over all your Pokemon with minimal fuss, or." He took my 

Ponyta tail, holding it up so I had to stand on my toes. 

"The hard way." He kicked my feet from under me and for an instant my scalp screamed. Despite his slim body, he was a strong 

bastard; his arm didn't give any beneath the weight. I fell to my knees gasping and noticed the others for the first time.

Tobias sat taunting Fury, just out of her flames reach, about the end of her trainer, describing in gory detail. Fury strained at the 

end of a steal lead spitting and snarling, flames spewed everywhere but she didn't have the power to make her flames go further 

and burn him to a crisp. Sumalee looked mortified, she now had to choose between her two new friends. Maverick wore his usual 

happy go lucky grin, his eyes gleamed as he watched Tobias's hair, hypnotized. The only thing keeping from latching on was 

Sumalee's firm grip around his middle. Faulkner frowned concocting some sought of plan. A Murkrow fluttered at his side. I had to 

be strong. What was one life against so many? I bowed my head hoping a plan would be close at hand. Angel lifted my chin with 

surprising hand so I could look into those chilling blue eyes. He might have been cute if we weren't bargaining with my life.

'Will you do it the easy way, Topaz," he said softly. 

"Piss off."

"Is that a yes or a no?

"Its a form of recommendation," I threatened.

Angel sighed and his lips twisted into an evil grin. "So be it. I have no qualms about having your brains paint the pavement below." 

He leaned over the side of the building and whistled.  "You'll have a long time to think about your death before you hit the ground 

and, in my opinion, that's a lot worse."

Unfortunately, I agreed.

From the side, there was an audible snap. I jerked my head just in time to see Fury's lead melt through and her lunge at Tobias. 

Her nails raked across his face and came away red. Three small red lines across Tobias's right cheek began to ooze blood. 

His hands slowly rose to touch the cuts and then looked at his fingertips. The same rage gleamed in his eyes as they did the first 

time. But instead of lashing out at Fury, he surged at me, grabbed me by the rope that held my wrists and hurled me over the side. 

"Ivysaur vine whip." Just as I began my plunge to the underworld, the Pokemons vines wrapped around my waist and brought me 

level with the rooftop. I still hung in midair.

When Angel saw I was safe he snatched Tobias's identical Rocket Uniform and slammed him against the wall.

"You screwed up two of my other missions, don't let there be a third! The only reason I'm with an amateur like you is to show you 

the ropes, but at the rate we're going I'll never be rid of you. So, just shut up and watch."

Tobias shoved Angel's chest and he staggered back. He may have been the brains of the group, but he was still no match for 

Tobias's raw power.

Angel turned back to Sumalee and Faulkner, the ones who would pay my ransom.

"You see how easily, and eagerly, we can toss this precious little friend of yours over the edge. Are ready to hand your Pokemon 

over now?"

"No!" 

The words escaped my lips before I knew. I had to do what was right. I sunk my nails savagely into Ivysaurs vines and she 

instinctively pulled away, leaving me to fall to my doom. I plunged towards the ground. Wind whipped across my ears and my 

Orange League hat was ripped from my head to float away. The floors began to pass more and more frequently until they were only 

a blur. I tumbled head over heels uncontrollably. My arms felt like they were being torn from their sockets. All the while the ground 

rushed towards me.

I looked up and for a brief moment I saw a brown bullet accelerating across the sky. I somersaulted again and lost sight of it, but 

not for long. The blur brandished beneath my out of control body and caught me. I looked down and recognized the brown bird with 

the brilliant red and yellow crest. Pidgeot evolved form Pidgeotto. I clung as best as I could to his neck with my knotted hands.

"I can't hold on properly with hand tied," I yelled but the winds carried away the words so I wasn't sure if Pidgeot heard. Pidgeot 

heard alright. She executed a perfect barrel roll. I slipped from his back, my arms and legs waving in the air like a dead cockroach. 

The ground was growing closer by the second.

WHOOSH. Pidgeot sped past and SNAP SNAP, the bonds were broken. She looped the looped and caught me again. This time I 

grabbed onto its wings for dear life. I looked down and saw bystanders looking up at the girl tempting fate.

"Alright," I said sounding like a drill sergeant as Pidgeot and I hovered meters above the ground. "We go in hard and fast, take 'em 

by surprise."

Pidgeot bobbed his head and powered straight up. I'd heard Pidgeot could fly up to Mach 2, twice the speed of sound, and never 

believed it. Now I did.

There was a deafening crash and everything was silent for a moment. We were flying high above the roof and hovered. If Angel and 

Tobias's eyes were saucers, there mouths were satellite dishes. I saw the edges of Faulkner's mouth curl into a half smile, but a 

second later it turned to surprise.

"Double Edge!" I yell. Pidgeot dived head first at Tobias and Angel, wings wide.

Angel screamed wordlessly and dropped to the ground, narrowly missing Pidgeot's outstretched wings. Tobias wasn't as lucky and 

bore the brunt of the attack.

"Ugh," he groaned as he hit the ground and remained there.

"_Ivy_," I searched the roof top and saw Angel's Ivysaur standing in front of her trainer, trying to protect him while he recovered. I had 

to admire her loyalty to her trainer. She snapped her vines like whips and her bulb glowed. He bulb glowed? 

"Solar Beam," I screamed to Pidgeot and she immediately pulled up, but not fast enough. The super focused sunlight scorched 

the tip of her left wing and she pitched in midair. I hung on tightly and waited for her to recover.

When Pidgeot righted herself I paused to think. Pidgeot must be at a high level. I frowned. What was Pidgeot's ultimate attack? I 

filtered through my memories of my Pokemon Tech class at high school, of Mr Treloar in grade three telling us the basic 

Pokemon, of all the passages Ms Vervey had made me write out a dozen times every time I didn't do my homework. 

It was.... It was.... It was.... 

"Mirror Move," I cried remembering. Pidgeot flared her wings and opened her mouth to absorb sunlight. A sphere of energy swelled 

until it filled the open abyss of her throat.

"_Pidgeooo_!" she screeched, clapped her wings together and released the Solar Beam. The shaft of light powered through the sky 

and struck Ivysaur between the eyes, which still faithfully guarded Angel. Angel must be a better Pokemon trainer than he is a 

human being. 

"Thank you Ivysaur," Angel said gently, getting up. Tobias stumbled beside Angel holding his side. When Angel saw this, he 

smiled up at me. 

"You are a worthy adversary, Topaz. Next time I won't underestimate you. Till we meet again." 

He took something from his belt that wasn't a Pokeball, smiled one last time a tossed it to the ground. The ball exploded in a puff 

of smoke, covering the Rockets completely. I told Pidgeot to use its gust attack and with a few beats of its wings, the smoke was 

gone leaving not a trace of Angel and Tobias.

I murmured a command and Pidgeot brought me in for a smooth landing. I hopped off and stroked her neck.

"Ahhhh!" A force struck me full on in the chest and pressed me to the ground. An enemy?

I opened my eyes. No attack, just Fury.

"Oh gods, your all right. When you went over the edge I was so scared. But that was so amazing how you and Pidgeot just..."

"Yeah yeah," I laughed. "Dying would have completely ruined my plans to be a Master." 

I heaved Fury of my chest and turned to see Faulkner's flabbergasted face.

"What?" I asked, not liking the way he was looking at me. Like I'd managed to catch a Mewtwo with a Pokeball.

"You do know that's a wild Pidgeot?"

"I figured it was yours. Besides there's no such thing as a wild Pidgeot," I expressed confused.

Faulkner looked a little Mareepish. "When I first inherited this Gym from my Grandfather all I owned was a Spearow, a Pidgey and 

a Pidgeotto. I trained them hard, too hard I guess, because when Pidgeotto evolved she wouldn't listen to me. and I was forced to 

release it. Every now and again I'd see her in the fields just below Violet."

"But you still can't be sure this is her," I said still not believing Faulkner could mistreat a Pokemon.

"I'm sure. See the black band behind Pidgeot's eyes, you'll notice their a lot wider then a usual Pidgeot."

"If it didn't listen to you, why me?"

"I've no idea, but from the looks of it she wants to accompany you." Faulkner was right again. Pidgeot pecked insistently at one of 

my vacant Pokeballs and managed to pull one free.

"You can't come with me!" Pidgeot looked hurt. "Its not that I don't want you with me, its just I have a Pidgeotto of my own." 

Pidgeotto eyed my Pokeballs jealously.

"I think I've a solution to your problem," Sumalee spoke up. She put Maverick down and turned to Faulkner. "By right this Pidgeot 

is still yours but she refuses to listen to obey you. By some bizarre coincidence she listens to Topaz. But she can't take her 

because Talon will get a case of the green eyed monster."

We both nodded yes.

"Well why don't you trade?"

"But..." I stopped myself in mid sentence. It'll be the perfect opportunity for Talon being trained by the best flying type trainer in 

Johto.

"I'll ask him." Talon appeared from his Pokeball as a beam of light. He cocked his head to look up at Pidgeot. __

_"Whoa, Fury beat that?"_

"Not exactly," I said, nervous of how Talon would react. 

"Talon this is Faulkner. He's the best Flying type trainer in the Johto League and he's offered to trade for his Pidgeot.  I don't really 

care about the Pidgeot, though it is a bonus, but I think it would be a great opportunity for you. You'd become a Pidgeot in no time. 

What ever your decision, don't let me influence it."

Talon paused to contemplate his choices. "_Thanks Topaz, I won 't forget you"_

"Nor will I. Keep the translator, I think Faulkner's going to need it," I laughed sadly as Faulkner and I switched Pokeballs.

"Hey!" Sumalee exclaimed, breaking the thick silence between us. "You owe me a badge."

"I owe you both a badge. Sumalee, you defeated Fearow and Murkrow with only your Totodile. As proof of your victory, here's the 

Zephyr Badge. Topaz, your ability to Master a wild Pokemon as easily as you did will put far above your rivals. And you saved my 

gym and even though you were the one who put it in danger I reward the Badge is yours also." From somewhere in his pleated 

skirt he took out two silver Badges that were shaped like a pair of wings. 

From her jeans pocket, Sumalee pulled out a small purple velvet bag with gold embroidery put the Wings inside and pulled the 

drawstring closed. I accepted my Badge; though I was disappointed I didn't get to battle him, and wondered where to keep it. I 

searched my pockets put found nothing but lint. In the end I put it in a spare Pokeball and hoped I didn't forget about it.

"Come Elm's assistant will be at the PokeCentre by now. I started towards the stairs, but I didn't get far. Pidgeot bobbed his head 

and scooped me onto her back.

I laughed. "Come on Fury! Pidgeot, reckon you can carry Sumalee too?"

"_Pidgeooooot_!"

Sumalee barely had time to scramble aboard and clutch my shirt before Pidgeot stepped up to the ledge and step over like the 

suicidal maniac I could be sometimes. As soon as we were in the air Pidgeot dropped into a stoop. She folded her wings back so 

that we were nestled safely between and just let us fall.

"Yeah!" I screamed as adrenaline pump though my veins. Sumalee just screamed, period.

Again the floors rushed by at a phenomenal speed. And when it looked as if we were going to smash against the pavement, 

Pidgeot gave one massive stroke of her wings and we were soaring over the buildings once more. 

"Seeya Faulkner! Bye Talon!" I waved good-bye and soon they were nothing but specks.

"That's better," Suma sighed, relaxing her grip on my waist and tightening it on Maverick. 

I agree completely. There's nothing I've ever experienced that could have come close to the feeling of floating on the wind. Forget 

perception-altering drugs. Forget Hang gliding. 

Forget standing on the Mary of the Titanic with Leo Dicaprio holding your arms wide, (forget that anyway!). 

Nothing.

The pains of this afternoon and three afternoons before drifted away like the clouds that were now so close. On the wings of 

Pidgeot, I made the decision to become the greatest Flying Trainer of all. The Wings of Council would be mine.


	4. WOC 4

_Wow! Still here? You like this don't you! I'm excited! {Auzzie joke!} Artico, Fireline, ect ect, belong to me, so use them as you will, just email me first. Shirasharmi@hotmail.com  Healtia belongs to Aaliyah, check out her story, its amazing!!!!_ Fire & Ice 

The next morning, in a clearing south of Violet, Sumalee dragged me out of a pleasant dream, in which I had defeated the Elite Four, at dawn. Now I'm not the kind of person who doesn't appreciate the beauty of the sunrise, but I'd much rather get up of my own free will.

"I'm sick of saving your sorry ass. I'm teaching you Renzuki!"

"Renzuwho?" I asked dumbly rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Fury yawned beside me; the flames own her back and head beginning to ignite. 

"Ren-zoo-kye," Sumalee pronounced slowly. "Its a form of martial art, which I happen to be a brown belt in. So… Get up and greet the day!"

"Did I ever tell you I loathe optimists?" I rolled over finding comfort in my body heated sleeping bag.

"You have till the count of three. One..." I drifted back into semi consciousness.

"Two...." And the new Indigo League Champion is… 

"THREE! That's it, Maverick, Watergun!"

"NOOOO," I howled in protest and tried to scramble up from my lying down position. 

Not fast enough. A blast of icy cold water soaked me to the bone. I shivered for a moment and then asked Fury for a smokescreen. Under the dark cloud I change from my dripping boxers to my training uniform.

"All right, what do you want me to do?" I glared from beneath my sodden fringe.

"First put you feet shoulder length apart. Then..."

For an hour and a half she had me doing sit-ups, chin-ups, pushups, dips, squats, star jumps, stretches, sprints, jabs, kicks, sweeps and throws. I think I was damper then when I'd actually started. Luckily by the time I'd finished, my sleeping bag and PJ's were dry and was ready to move on. I checked the Mysterious Egg we had picked up from Professor Elms Assistant yesterday afternoon and my new Badge holder, a Pokeball with a translucent lid. When you opened it the platform that you inserted you badge in rotated and played the Johto League anthem, Pokemon Johto. It had cost a pretty penny but was worth it.

We moved down the road to Azalea town, the home of Bugsy and the Hive Badge. As they say, the rolling stone gather's no moss. 

The sun rose further into the sky and even though it was only nine o'clock, it was already shaping up to be a scorcher of a day. And the dry, brown grass indicated that there had been a few. One the horizon, dark clouds were clustering.

Suma and I saw nothing but Rattata's as we walked. Neither of us wanted to catch one but Maverick and Fury chased them in and out of the long grass. I detested Rattata's. One had taken a bite out of me when I was a kid so I was secretly pleased when I'd hear a squeal as Maverick nipped one on the tail.

"Hey, check it out," Sumalee called, beckoning to me. I walked over to see her looking intently at a wooden sign at a fork in the road.

RUINS OF ALPH _Open for a short time only!_

"Oh. Can we go, please?" Suma pleaded. "I always wanted to be a Palaeontologist and its only open for a short time."

"You can, rocks aren't my thing. I'll meet you back here in half an hour," I sad sounding bored.

Sumalee smiled. "OK, but can you look after Maverick. Who knows what ancient life he'd choke on." She handed me his Pokeball and set of at a brisk pace towards the ruins.

When she was out of sight I couldn't help but shake my head. Who could hold such a fascination for rocks?

Fury returned to my side with Totodile in tow. I noticed some purple fur stuck between his pearly white teeth. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Come on."

We hadn't gone far when a girl burst from the long grass sweating and panting. I could understand her being hot. A thick frilly pink dress and long white stockings would make anyone perspire. To complete the look was a hooked cane.

"Have.....have you seen....my Mareep," she gasped recovering her breath.

"Yeah, its behind you." I frowned. "And another, and another and, there's five of them." Five Mareep in the long grass stared curiously. 

"No, my black sheep's gone missing again. He looks pretty much like any other Mareep except his curl has a kind of kink in it." She brushed a strand of hair from her face as if thinking of her Mareep.

"If I find your Mareep I'll return it to you straight away, er..."

"Mary thanks again." Without another word she and her flock disappeared into the thicket.

"Mary and her lost sheep," I said dryly. I then turned serious. "I wonder if I should catch my own Mareep. I'll need a good electric type if I want to catch a Legendary Bird."

No sooner said, Fury's ears picked up. _"I hear something." _She crouched low and shuffled forward. A moment later there was an audible _Aha_, sounds of a scuffle and Fury returning with a round green bird in her mouth.

"Capture him," she told me as she dropped him at my feet. I nodded and tapped the Pokemon with the Pokeball and he evaporated into the ball. It shuddered for a bit but PINGed, indicating capture. After healing the Pokemon and attaching him with a translator, I checked him out with Dex. It identified him as Natu, the little bird Pokemon. Its wings were too stubby to let it fly but they would grow as it evolved. It was also a Psychic type.

Satisfied, I recalled him to his Pokeball. We wandered further and the long grass gave way to a pleasant field of posies and daisies and a creek strolled by. The hot weather made the lavender stench almost unbearable. But even over the scent of lavender was the smell of thunder and lightning. The storm clouds crawled a tiny bit closer. The Pokemon could sense it too. The herds of Ponyta and Artico, cantered by. Artico was a male Ponyta. 

Scientist had only just found out how to discover the gender of Pokemon three years ago and survey found out that all Ponyta, Rapidash and Zefire, the winged evolution of Rapidash, were female. A short time later they followed their yearly migration to an unknown valley, now called the Vale of Dreams. Inside were the male Artico, Articolt and Articorn, much like the females except they were broader of shoulder and the blue flame that made up the mane and tail froze instead of burnt, making it an ice type. The Rapidash and Zefire mated and gave birth to the young. If it was an Artico, it would stay behind to be raised the Articolt and Articorn, if a Ponyta it would make the long journey back to Kanto.

I had tried my hand at them earlier, but had failed miserably. An Articorn would have been a perfect edition to my team of flying Pokemon. I spotted a boy on the bank of the creek, a Fishing rod in the water and some Pokeballs on the ground beside him 14 maybe 15, with a mane of cerulean blue hair just past his shoulders. It seemed like it hadn't been brushed for weeks. But then again I couldn't talk mine looked just the same.

"Hi, I'm Topaz," I greeted him as we came up behind. "I'm looking for a battle. Interested?"

"Cal, and it depends. You play for money?" He had a cheeky grin.

"If you want. Half OK?" Cal hesitated. He looked at Fury, then Maverick, then at the Pokeballs at my waist. He weighed his options carefully. Strange, I thought. Most kids just rush into a battle. He's smarter then he looks.

"Quarter and its a deal. Two Pokemon each." He reached down and selected two Pokeballs.

"Done. Target, I choose you!"

Target appeared from his ball at the same time as Cal's. I recognized it from textbooks as Wooper, but I still couldn't help laughing. It was a walking TV antenna.

"Bet ya get great reception for your radio!" I laughed.

"Slam!" Cal ordered as I was distracted. Wooper crashed into Target sending him sprawling. Before he could recover, he was blasted with a Watergun attack. Target coughed and spluttered looking like I did this morning.

"Fury swipes," I commanded, annoyed with my lack of concentration. But nether-the-less, Target rose on his tail and lashed out with one paw, then the other. First paw again, his second paw again and once more with his right, all in quick succession.

Wooper tried his own Tail whip but the Sentret ducked and caught his tail as it swished overhead. Target leapt into the air, still holding Wooper, swung it in a full circle then tossed it over his shoulder in a brilliant display of strength. 

When Wooper collapsed, Target yipped in delight at his victory.

"Nice work Target! Here!" I tossed him a Rare Candy from the jar I picked up from the PokeMart. He licked it eagerly.

Cal waited patiently for Target to finish, then threw his second ball, a Poliwhirl. This could be hard. 

"Come back Target. Go Mystic." The Natu sprung forth, flapping his stubby green patterned wings. 

"Hang on!" I did a double take. "What are your attacks?"

_"Peck, Niteshade, Teleport, or Foresight_." Mystic said, rolling his r's and pronouncing his vowels. A strange accent if ever I heard one.

While we were chatting, Poliwhirl was building an attack. From its stomach spiral a cloud of bubbles snaked towards Mystic. They circled around him and burst. Mystic tried to flap his way out but only succeeded in exploding more.

"Teleport," I cried, wondering why Mystic didn't think of it himself. He obeyed anyway. One minute she was almost invisible behind the veil of bubbles, next moment she was! An instant later she faded behind Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl only realized it to late.

"Niteshade!" A black, foreboding, fog shimmered into view and a gust of wind directed into Poliwhirl's face. 

Its eyes widened and its limbs flailed uncontrollably. Foam frothed at the edges of its stomach spiral and splattered the ground. Its spiral spun in one direction, then the other in a nauseating motion. Its moist skin seemed to sweat excessively. 

Finally Poliwhirls eyes regained focus and with its last ounce of strength it threw itself at Mystic, who was also weakened from the attack, and slammed him to the ground. Mystic let out one last grating cry before they both fainted. 

They returned to their balls. Neither had lost, but neither had won either. 

"It was a good battle," Cal said. 

"What are you doing here?" I said putting my Pokeballs away.

"Catching water Pokemon, I wanna be the greatest water trainer ever and beat Misty Ketchum!" 

He talked of Misty, the greatest loud mouthed, short-tempered, water Pokemon trainer to grace the League. Ash had dug himself deep marrying her two years before and deeper still when Misty gave birth to twins, Janelle & Matthew, some time after.

Great expectations were held of those two, the son and daughter of the best trainers in the world.

"Anything good?"

"Not of late. It's this dry weather. The water levels falling so most of the Pokemon are swimming down stream. If it keeps falling the creek could dry up entirely," He said looking genuinely worried. "But enough of that, what about you? Any plans?"

"I started my journey on Monday. I train Fury," I pointed to the Quilava and went to sit in the shade of a gum overhanging the creek. "Target and Mystic you already know of, and Talorn my Pidgeot. Plus I've earned the Zephyr Badge yesterday.

I proceeded to tell him of Tobias's temper, Angels scheme, my dance with death on, or rather not, the roof of the Violet City Gym, and the vow I had pledged on Talorn's wings, to capture the Wings of Council.

"Ahhh," he sighed. "Lugia the Water God, the perfect prize. But I have a chance at a much rarer Pokemon." Cal revealed that his uncle was a friend of Tracy Sketchit, a great Pokemon Watcher, and the two had discovered a litter of very rare Suicune, the legendary water dog. His uncle said if he could prove himself worthy by the time they reached maturity, in two year, he would have the chance to capture it.

"So I thought what more proof then defeating the Johto League." Cal's face drooped. "But right now I'm having trouble beating Bugsy of the Azalea Gym."

I nodded. "Water types do have a hard time against bugs. We're heading that way maybe you'll have more luck this time."

We chatted some more but were roused from out conversation when droplets fell from the sky. I looked up. The storm had come faster than I thought. I could already hear the rumble of distant thunder. I checked my watch, 1:45, over half an hour late to meet Suma. She was going to be pretty pissed. I looked out from under the tree again. It wasn't raining hard no more than spitting. But the wind was picking up and the lightning was getting closer. 

Damn, I thought to myself, a dry storm. The threat of a bush fire was now very real.

"I choose you, Talorn." She brandished down from the sky and landed in front of us.

"Yes Topaz." Her translators voice sound cultured and refined, like an English countess.

"Sumalee's down that road waiting for me. I'd like you to find and bring her back here. Think you're up to it?"

She snorted indignant. "Think, my dear. This a summers breeze compared to what I can created." Without further ado she lifted into the sky with little effort, showing off I'm sure, and sailed in the direction of Alphs Ruins.

Fifteen minutes later she returned with a sopping wet Sumalee. She glared daggers at my heart, even though she was hanging onto Pidgeot as if her life depended on it. 

"How dare you! Do you know how long I waited, in the rain!"

"48 minutes."

She glowered once more and returned to here usual cheerful disposition. 

"Whose your friend?"

"Cal, a water trainer." I didn't like the way she was smiling at me. "I beat him!"

"You did not, it was a tie!" Cal protested vigorously.

"Wrong. I whipped your walking TV antenna."    

"I was only training him. Wooper is not my strongest Pokemon. If you want to see who would win in a one on one battle, I'm ready."

"Yeah that's fair. Five weeks of training to five days," I retorted sarcastically.

"Topaz has an annoying urge to piss of the wrong people. I suspect she told you of Angel and Tobias."

Cal shrugged with a wry smile. "I guess I could put up with her until we reach the PokeCentre. But we better hurry, this storms going to get worse."

Cal was right. We had an hour of soft rain, Fury complaining the whole time but then again I wasn't too thrilled with it, soon after it halted and made way for the imminent storm. By then we had made it to the tree line. I thought it put us in more danger than when we were in the open but didn't voice my opinion. 

The lightning strikes were getting closer, meaning thunder. Even Mavericks constant smile was gone. Worse than that was the rain had done little or nothing to wet the greenery. It was still hot and muggy.

"_Mareeep_!" 

The cry pierced my thoughts and made me look around. There! Beneath a huge Eucalyptus tree, was a wet and bedraggled Pokemon. The invading clouds made it almost impossible to see in the gloom, but I could guess. The black sheep, Mareep.

_'Mareeep_!" it called again but his time a little more distressed.

Before I could say anything to my friends, a bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky above and almost simultaneously, the roar of thunder echoed around us so load my eardrum seemed to rapture. I screamed. I don't pretend I wasn't afraid because, I was almost ready to wet myself. I opened my eyes and stopped clutching my ears that heard that annoying ringing sound a hundred times louder.

"_Maaaareeeep_!" it wailed urgently. 

I turned towards a faint cracking sound. I suddenly realized the bolt had struck the Eucalypt and the cracking sound was the top of the tree snapping in half. That's when my "Put your life on the line, what do you have to lose?" instinct kicked in. I darted forward snatched a handful of Mareep's fleece and pulled it along with me as I slid across the mud. I kind of ruined the heroic effect by falling face first in the puddle. I pulled my face out just in time to see the tree crash inches from my outstretched hand. The ground shook.

Suma gave a startled cry. Cal yelled and tossed some Pokeballs. Poliwhirl, Wooper and Wartortle as well as Maverick answered their trainer's Watergun command. I glanced to where they were aiming and gaped.

Fire licked eagerly at the dry bark of the tree. They crackled as they ate the leaves and snapped for more. Smoke spiralled skyward. A flaming leaf fell from above and to my horror, the roof of the forest was set alight. The water Pokemon could only reach the lower branches.

"What do we do?" Suma shouted as I joined them, still clutching the struggling 

Mareep.

"We've got to raise the alarm," Cal answered, keeping an eye on his three brave Pokemon.

"Suma! If we can get our Sentret's get above the rest we'll be able to alert then rest of the forest." I coughed, the smoke was getting worse. I released Talorn and Target and Sumalee called on her Sentret and another Pokemon didn't know of.

"_Fruean_!" it rasped, as it appeared, a fluorescent purple dragonfly. Its long translucent bright wings, sparking electricity and beat at what I thought was possibly 200 km/h.

"Sentrets get on the back of the flying Pokemon. I want you to fly above the trees and loud as you can tell everyone there's a fire and to get to the creek." I spluttered again. "Then Talorn as fast you can find Officer Jenny in Violet City and explain the situation." The two pairs nodded and took to the air.

I turned to Suma and Cal. We've to help too. Cal, get to the creek and organize the water types into some sort of fire fighters. Take Mareep and the egg with you. Sumalee and I are going to spread the word. Here!" I took out some handkerchiefs and had Maverick splash them with water. After they were moist we tied them over our mouths and the Pokemons. I voices came out muffled.

"Come on, we haven't time to lose!" Above the din we heard our Sentrets loud and clear ring across the area. We nodded and split. Cal and his Pokemon went one way, Suma, Maverick, Fury and me the other.

We ran through the inferno of a forest screaming till we were hoarse and then screamed some more. 

"Spread the word! Fire! Get to the creek! You'll be safe!"

When our hankies dried, which was often in the blistering heat, a squirt of Mavericks Watergun kept them damp. Our hair and eyebrows were beginning to singe, Sumalee more so because she was taller.

An urgent whinny notified us of another trapped Pokemon. We helped as many as possible, but some were out of reach. It shook my soul every time we passed a charred body. Luckily it wasn't often. Another cry sounded through the blaze, and another and another. Through flickering flames, I caught sight of a blue tongue of fire. As I looked closer I saw a paler red. A herd of horse Pokemon.

"All right," Suma said taking command. "Water gun!"

Maverick threw his head forward to extinguish the burning Banksia tree that blocked their way, but nothing came out. He shook his head and tried again, still nothing. He turned to Sumalee and made a gagging sound in the back of his throat.

Suma turned hysterical. "What are we going to do? Maverick needs to replenish his water gland if we're to get out of here. And the Pokemon!" 

It hurt me to say so but… "We've done all we can." I tore my gaze from the helpless Pokemon and began to walk away. I wondered why the fire types just didn't jump the trunk. The fire wouldn't hurt them the smoke would.

"_No_!" Fury! She moved closer to the inferno and tensed her shoulders. She groaned with such effort I thought she would faint. Sweat broke out on her brow. She crouched lower and howled.

This time the flames parted like the red sea. Still the Ponyta and Artico wouldn't come out.

We passed over the charred log unharmed. Fury still kept the heat at bay, but not with as much strength. The Ponyta and Artico stepped out of the way revealing an Artico on the ground. I saw what was wrong and motioned Suma beside me.

"Its back legs are crushed under the branch. We can move it easily but the Artico still won't be able to get to the river. Take the rest of the herd to the creek. Have Maverick fill up and help Cal. I'll capture Artico and follow," I said, but I lied. I was planning to help more Pokemon. On the count of three we lifted the branch. Suma stepped up to the dominant male Articolt. She placed a hand on his velvety nose and led him over the barrier. The rest of the herd followed and when they were all safely across the Articolt nickered and pawed the ground.

"Go, I'll help him get the rest of them to the creek." He nodded and followed Suma back the way we had come.

I held out a spare Pokeball out to Artico. "Get in."

He tossed his head and tried to pull himself up, but his lower half refused to cooperate. He looked at the ball suspiciously.

"I'll release you as soon as you're healed," I promised in a soothing voice. "But I don't have time for this crap!" Intimidated with my show of temper he allowed himself to be sucked into the Pokeball. 

I breathed a sigh of relief and exited the ring of flames. As soon as I was out, Fury exhaled and the gap she had kept open no longer existed. I wiped the perspiration from my face and smiled at Fury. "What was that?"

_"I must have learnt Tamed Flame," _she said with awe. "_That's a pretty hard attack!"_

"I'm proud of you but we've got Pokemon to save."

"But you said...."

"Do as I say, not as I do," I quoted. Fury didn't argue.

Again we raced through the trees, all bathed in the ghostly orange glow of the pursuing flames, helping a fallen Spearow reach the sky or a Rattata with a burnt paw on its way towards the river.

I was searching the trees when in the middle of the clearing I spotted an unfamiliar Pokemon. It was feline in appearance but with much more grace than any Meowth. Orange and red streaked its silky fur.

I crouched beside it and used the last of my potions to revive her. She awoke with a start and skittered from my lap. I stepped toward the Pokemon hoping to calm her down, she only hissed in response. I noticed the flames move distinctly closer. They seemed to reach out for us with clawed hands. I jumped backwards startled and fell over Fury landing on my ass. The flames lunged again. I edged backward and hit a solid form. I turned around and saw for the first time the rock face. It must have been part of Union cave. I swore and took my Pokedex from my pocket.

"What is that and how do I calm it down?!" I went into a coughing fit and tore the handkerchief from my face. It was dry and no use. Fury did the same.

"Fireline, the Flame Cat Pokemon. It is a beginning Pokemon in the Metone region. Extremely aggressive and if provoked it will use its special attack Tamed Flame. The best way to avoid the attack is to play dead."

"But we will be dead in a moment. Fury, Tamed Flame." 

It was a contest of will power. Fury howled and the fire paused, as if contemplating which side to take. Slowly but surely the flames relented to Fury and turned on Fireline.

"_Firrelinnne_," she snarled and overwhelmed Fury. The flames leapt forward with such ferocity I almost expected them to salivate.

"Fury, come here precious." I bundled her in my arms and did as the Pokedex suggested.

The smoke was worse near the ground. I could feel the fire lick at my legs causing them to blister in the intense heat. I was in excruciating pain. My thoughts were losing focus and still the Fireline wouldn't let us be.

Suddenly a shadow passed over the moon. I could make out the silhouette of wings.

The Angel of Mercy, I thought. I must be dead. But no angel to take my life, just one pissed off Pidgeot. 

"Vacate the area immediately, you mangy ally cat!" Talorn snapped her wings together and a crack like a bullwhip sounded the air. The Fireline escaped into the darkness, taking the inferno with her.

Talorn came closer. "Oh you poor dear. Quick, we must get you out of this hellhole!"

In my weakened state I managed to crawl onto her back. She pumped her wings and flew into the air.

During the flight I faded in and out of consciousness but soon reached a PokeCentre just outside Union cave. It was an unexpected convenience.

I slipped off, but as soon as I placed weight on my burnt legs they collapsed from under me. I emitted a low moan and a Nurse Joy rushed out of the building. She inspected my useless legs.

"Oh dear! Look at those burns. Chansey! Blissey! We need a 1½-meter stretcher for a human girl. Hurry, she looks ready to faint from exhaustion!" She turned her attention back to me. "Don't worry, we have a Healtia with us."

"Pokeballs," I murmured, barely audible.

"We'll have them fixed in a jiffy, but you need to go to rest." Before I could protest, I was lifted into the stretcher and heard Blissey's sweet lullaby.

I awoke the next morning in a hospital bed to see Blissey with an extremely large perm. Her hands were nimbler and its usual marshmallow body was slimmer. Its egg was brightly coloured and had a soft glow about it.

"Healtia?" She placed a fine-fingered hand on my forehead and called into the hallway. _"Heal, tia tia. Healtia!"_

A Chansey popped her head from behind the doorway. "_Chansey_?"

"_Healtia_."

"_Chan_, _Chansey_." She looked at me then disappeared again.

"Hi, you must be Healtia. How are my Pokemon?"

"_Tia_," the Healtia said with a smile.

I remembered my messed up legs. I lifted the crisp white sheet and saw my legs were fine. Not a blister or a scratch. Even the bruises left by Tobias were gone. I also saw that they had dressed me in a hospital gown. I shuddered at the thought. I pushed up from the pillow but Healtia pressed firmly on my chest indicating I should lay down. I gave up resisting and dropped back onto it.

"Could I have my Pokedex?" Healtia took it from my shorts pocket at the end of the bed and passed it too me. 

I may as well study some of the new Pokemon I'd encountered in the short period of time.

"Fruean."

"Fruean, the voltfly Pokemon. An ancient Pokemon reconstructed from the Gossamer Fossil. Its wings can beat at more than 200 km a minute and have been known to create strong storms."

"Artico."

"Artico, the glacial fire Pokemon. The blue flames of this Pokemon freeze rather than burn. Its fur is covered with tiny ice crystals that give it its bluish hue."

"Healtia."

"Healtia, the compassion Pokemon. A Pokemon extremely talented in the art of healing. Its egg is highly sort after because of its curing properties. It can heal broken bones with a touch."

"You healed my legs, didn't you Healtia? Thank you very much."

Before she could reply, Chansey reappeared, without her egg but with a tray in hand. On it was a mug that she passed to me. Inside was a white milky liquid. I took one sip and then gulp the sweet drink with relish. When I'd finished I had one of those milk mustaches and felt as if I was on the ultimate sugar rush.

I literally leapt out of bed and changed from the papery hospital gown into my slightly burnt training gear. When Healtia and Blissey returned to the room they only smiled and ushered me into the waiting room. 

Inside was Fury telling Officer Jenny, Suma, Cal and a few other onlookers, one I recognized as Mary holding Mareep, of the night before. All listen to the recount enthralled.

_"And then the Fireline used its Tamed Flame attack. I was really tired so… Topaz!_"

She jumped into my arms and licked my face. When she was done she said with a face full of pride she said, _"I was telling of our brave deeds saving the Pokemon through out Route 32!"_

"It was nothing that big," I said a little uncomfortable. As I said I never liked crowds, now I had at least 10 people listening to what I'd done. Exaggerated, most likely, but still.…

"Yes it was that big Topaz," Officer Jenny said standing up. "You saved many trainers and Pokemon as well as the forest. It was your quick thinking that allowed us to get here in time before it was all lost. I'll make sure each of you get some kind of reward."

"Er, thanks. Are my Pokemon all right?"

"Yes, they're outside getting some exercise." Nurse Joy said coming from behind. I took the chance to get away from the scrutiny of the crowd and stepped into the sunlight. The only evidence of the havoc last night were the scorched trees. "You've earned quite a name for yourself, Amazing Moltres."

"Don't start with that Sumalee," I said looking at our Pokemon in the yard. All seemed happy and care free. "I gotta go release Artico."

"Be back soon we've got an interview," Cal lectured. "If your not they won't want us."

"Poor baby. I'll be back in time." I recalled my Pokemon, except Fury. I left her to deal with the press if I was late and soon I was soaring high above the marred trees. I saw the Furret's in their odd shaped nests and the Rattata's scavenging for nuts and berries, or at least what was left of them. Then in the northeast I saw the red and blue figures of Articolts herd. Talon took us in for a smooth landing. Articolt recognized me and greeted me with a toss of his head. Artico zapped form his ball and raced to stand beside an elegant Rapidash, his mother I guess. Their red and blue flames mingled in a stunning display.

I started back to Talorn, but Articolt neighed. After a series of nickers and whinnies I turned to the Pidgeot for translation.

"He says, my dear, that he's eternally grateful for healing Glacial. If it weren't for you he wouldn't have survived and neither the rest of his herd. As a reward you may choose any horse here to take with you."

"Any willing to join me come forward," I called. Six or seven Pokemon lined up before me. To be honest, they all looked the same to me. Only differing in size and temperament. But one caught my eye. He was of medium size and had a fire in his eye. I always liked high-spirited Pokemon, more of a challenge.

"I choose this Artico."

It reared in the air, hooves flailing and disappeared into the Pokeball Glacial had inhabited for a short time.

After 15 minutes of flying I arrived back at the Centre with Chilun, my new Articolt. I barely had time to call Talorn back into her Pokeball, when a stamped of reporters bombarded me with useless questions and microphones.

I was pushed inside and sat in a designated seat between Cal and Suma. Then it turned professional. I let the other tell what happened, even though I was the star whether I wanted to be or not, and only answered the odd question directed at me. After a tedious three hours of filming us, the reporters left and I could get ready for our journey through Union cave.

That afternoon, Cal, Suma, Maverick, Fury and me stood out side the PokeCentre saying goodbye.

"Topaz!" It was Mary and she held a Pokeball. "Thankyou so much for saving the 

Mareep. I can't thank you enough except by giving him to you." She pushed the 

Pokeball into my hand

"Thanks Mary, but you shouldn't have." I pushed it back into her hand.

"No, really. He'll come in handy. He knows the Flash HM so you can get through Union cave."

"Thanks," I said again dryly, not sure of what to do with a rebel Mareep. Officer Jenny awarded us each with another Pokemon. Suma a Fireline, Cal a Marill, but I didn't get a chance to see mine because as soon as it passed from her to me, it shimmered and popped from sight back to Professor Elms lab. Officer Jenny told me it was a Aquatro, a water bird Pokemon because I had told of my quest to be the greatest bird trainer. Excited with the prospect of another bird, I exchanged Target for Aqua in my belt. I'm sure Target would have been more happy in the wide-open field behind Elms Lab.

Aqua was beautiful. No taller than my knee with long blue, trailing feathers that rippled like a river. Her tail was a whirlpool of blue tints and hues. She was affectionate and as thrilled to be with me as I was with her.

The three of us extremely happy with our new Pokemon we disappeared into the abyss of Union Cave with a renegade Mareep leading the way.


	5. WOC 5

**_This part is short, people, very short, but preludes to a fairly good chapter. Any created Pokemon belong to me so if _**
    
    **_you'd like to use them, sure, just email me first and tell me where you fic is cos I like to see my handiwork! _**
    
    **_Shirasharmi@hotmail.com _**
    
    **Bat Attack**
    
    "Get your ass back here before I...." I let the threat hang. As usual, Bolt ignored me. We had entered the Cave the day before, not 
    
    that you could tell in this timeless vortex, with Bolt leading the way and within half an hour the absent minded Mareep had us 
    
    hopelessly lost.
    
    After a show of temper I recalled him and for the rest of the day relied heavily on Fury's collar of embers. That night she was utterly 
    
    exhausted and I didn't have the heart to ask her to try again for the rest of the trip through the network of caves that made up Union 
    
    Cave.
    
    I tried Chilun. The Artico illuminated the area sufficiently, but took one look at the enclosed vicinity and hurtled into the darkness 
    
    like a Crobat out of Hell, leading us on a merry chase further into the impossible labyrinth. 
    
    When we caught up to him we decided to try Fruean, the electric dragonfly 
    
    Suma had bought at the Ruins of Alph. He buzzed incessantly. The noise echoed around us so I felt like I was standing next to a 
    
    propeller of the Spruce Moose. My patience cracked again and Fruean returned his Pokeball a little ruffled.
    
    Maverick was another problem. Who'd have thought such a blithe little Totodile could be afraid of the dark. It seemed he was 
    
    attached to Sumalee with a 30 cm invisible cord. If he lost contact with Suma's ankle, he'd scuttle around yelping like Donald duck 
    
    with his hand on fire. "_Toto Toto Toto!_"  If the rest of the cave was going to be this vexatious, by the end I'd have no teeth left and 
    
    would be bald as an Exeggsicute.
    
    Soon, to my distaste, it was obvious Bolt was our only choice. The ruby orb that sat on his constantly wagging tail always kept 
    
    the area within 3 meters well lit.
    
    Unfortunately, most of the time we weren't in the bright spot.
    
    "There! Up ahead!" Cal yelled and took off at a run, chasing a glint of light that was disappearing around the far corner. Suma ran 
    
    after him with Maverick in hot pursuit. Fury and I tried to keep up but as soon as I gained speed I tripped over a rock. I rolled to a 
    
    stop. I crawled back and picked up the rock about as big as my fist, ready to heave it at the unseen wall. But I felt a pattern carved 
    
    into the unusually smooth rock.
    
    "Fury, little light." A short distance off flames flared around Fury's neck and back. With the extra spark I could make out its shape. 
    
    It looked like an egg sliced in half. It shimmered blue as the light shone on it. Faint blue ink was inside the etched teardrop.
    
    "A Water Stone," I whispered amazed. "Heh heh, a bargaining chip against Cal. He could evolve his Eevee or his Poliwhirl. What 
    
    do you think he'd trade for it."
    
    "I don't think we need to worry about that now," Fury said sceptically.
    
    I looked up and there wasn't a trace of Bolt, Cal or Suma.
    
    "Damn it!" I swore. With out light, we'd be lost here for infinity, and next to no hope of finding the guys. I didn't say anything to 
    
    Fury. "We better find Bolt soon, I'm beat." Her collar burnt low giving just enough light to see the out line of my hand.
    
    "Conserve your energy. We may need it later." At that the suffocating darkness closed in us. The totality of it gave me shivers. We 
    
    hugged the wall of the tunnel, tiny steps so our feet wouldn't catch on loose stones and sprain an ankle. As we got used to the 
    
    lack of light we grew bolder and travelled along at a quicker pace. I called out once or twice, hoping to hear Suma and Cal yell with 
    
    reassurance and that they'd found an easy way out. No such luck. 
    
    The darkness was morbid, not that I had anything against that, Morbid was another of my nicknames from school. So we sang 
    
    songs, not only to let the others know where we were, but to keep our spirits up.
    
    "Everybody wants to be a Master, Everybody wants to show their skills," I warbled.
    
    _"Everybody wants to get their faster, make their way to the top of the hill," _Fury chorused.
    
    "Pokemon Joht... Whoa!" My singing was interrupted unexpectedly as the wall ended and I fell forward into an open space. You 
    
    couldn't seen the cavern but you could feel its immense size.
    
    As I lay on my stomach I felt something like steel wool brush my leg. A low moan escaped my lips. "What I wouldn't give for a 
    
    light!"
    
    Everything that happened after was in rapid succession, so fast my mind eye saw it all happen at once.
    
    Bolt appeared beside me with the dazzlingly bright sphere bobbing on the end of his tail. A loud screeched above. I jerked my 
    
    head up and saw them, Zubats. Huge masses of them hung from the ceiling amid the stalactites. They attacked. I screamed!
    
    On a neighbouring island some campers had stayed outside a cave. They had returned the nest day with just enough blood to 
    
    keep them alive for a few more hours. The bites all over their bodies had been identified as Zubats.
    
    I screamed again. "Run!" I darted for the opening on the opposite end of the great hall. My steps faltered as a Zubat latched onto 
    
    my arm and pierced my skin. I ripped it off, but another soon took its place. I swatted them left and right but still more were ready. 
    
    I pivoted and saw Bolt sitting in the middle of the floor as if it were nothing more than a light shower, gazing into space. Zubats that 
    
    had tried to work through his fleece were caught and struggling frantically to escape the wool that held them.
    
    Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flame leap into the air. At its source was a multitude of Zubat's and Golbats. At all corners of 
    
    the cave they swooped on for a free feed.
    
    "Fury!" I pushed though the fray and found her at the centre. She was a mass of blood and bites. He legs splayed out before her 
    
    and her flames did nothing to keep away the hordes of bloodsuckers. She didn't seem to be breathing. There it was! The faint rise 
    
    and fall of her chest. But it wouldn't for long. I smacked away a bat that had latched on to her haunch. It hit the floor with a 
    
    slapping sound. I scooped her up as quickly and carefully as I could, but it was a lot easier when she was a Cyndaquil. I heaved 
    
    her out of the knot of leathery wings. 
    
    It was no use. A Golbat slammed onto my shoulder, knocking me to the ground. Its teeth slipped through my T-shirt and into my 
    
    skin. I felt my life force flow out of me with each pulse. I did my best to shield Fury, but bats attacked from the front, seeing my 
    
    preoccupied.
    
    "Bolt! THUNDERSHOCK!"
    
    "_Huh_?" he said snapping out of his Ivory tower and back to reality. He shook them from his coat.
    
    "Do it you dumbass sheep!" my voice getting weaker. Another Zubat impeded my view. Suddenly crackled overhead. It coursed 
    
    through the bodies of the horde. They convulsed and jerked in midair. Then it stopped and each felt to the ground smoking.
    
    I tore the Golbat from my shoulder and limped towards the opposite end of the hall before the Zubat regrouped and readied for 
    
    another attack. I tucked Bolt under my arm as the first began to stir. I limped faster and faster until I broke into an all out awkward 
    
    run. My feet slapped an irregular staccato rhythm against the stone as I entered the tunnel.
    
    "Bolt. Dim light please?" No answer. A large stone connected with my bite-ridden shin. I screeched as pain screamed through my 
    
    body. Then the light blinked on.
    
    "IF THESE ZUBATS DON'T KILL US FIRST, I'M GONNA THROTTLE YOU!" 
    
    Too late the Mareep had slipped back into his daydream. I looked ahead, skidded to a halt then gapped like a Magikarp. I had 
    
    narrowly missed landing in the inky black water that could have fatal to Fury! I heard the drip, drip, drip into the water.
    
    So its under ground pool or lake and not and underground river, I thought to myself. 
    
    Behind me I heard the flitting of wings. I quickly surveyed the area. The roof was too low for Talorn to carry us across and the water 
    
    was too deep for me to wade through. Mystic's Teleport. I pressed the button on his Pokeball and the red light formed the Natu.
    
    "Mystic. Can you Teleport us to the side of the lake?" 
    
    He hesitated than shook his head. _"Dangerous. Teleport drain much energy, make tired and not direct where be. Only one peoples _
    
    _at time."_
    
    The bats were getting closer.
    
    "Mystic Teleport Fury and my pack to the other side. Try to get Fury in a safe spot in case the Zubat's try to follow. Go Aqua!" 
    
    Aqua zapped out of her Pokeball. Fury, Mystic and my stuff winked from sight. 
    
    "Bolt get on Aqua's back. Bolt? Bolt, did you hear me?" With a frustrated yell, I grabbed him and pushed him beneath the water for 
    
    a moment, than sat him on Aqua's back.
    
    "_Huh... What_?" The Mareep spluttered.
    
    "Pay attention. Aqua swim beside me and try to keep the Zubats off my back." I was painfully reminded of the Golbat as the first of 
    
    the Zubat latched to my arm. It was stubborn. I finally freed him from my arm, taking a lot of skin with it. I was down to my last 
    
    reservoir of strength and the excitement of the past week caught up with me.
    
    I fell in rather than dived, but that made me no more prepared for bitter cold and I was immediately sorry for dunking Bolt. The icy 
    
    water made me gasp and sucked in a mouthful of water. I coughed and tried to reach the surface, which seemed ages away. I 
    
    broke through the water and started to stroke, none to gracefully, to the other side of the lake. 
    
    My body ached and begged for rest but every time I seemed to slack off, Aqua came to my side and supported me until I caught 
    
    my breath. The bats swooped and tried to catch a bare limb but were beaten of constantly by Aqua's Bubblebeam. Many were 
    
    wary and kept their distance until I collapsed of exhaustion.
    
    After what seemed and eternity, my fingertips brushed solid ground. I dragged myself up and just lay their like a beached whale. 
    
    The water had washed away the congealed blood and the loss was taking its toll. Golbats and Zubats seized their chance and 
    
    rocketed across a swarm of Beedrills. The Aquatro saw my peril, and sang.
    
    A soft sweet melody drifted through the air like a breeze on a Spring morning. In response to the music, the water stirred. 
    
    Unnoticeable at first, then small ripples across the surface of the pool. Ripples turned into gentle waves, lapping against the shore 
    
    and licking my fingers. The song reached its climax the waves spiralled in the centre of the lake, faster and faster. A strong 
    
    penetrating note pushed through the harmony just as a waterspout pushed through the rolling swells. She lifted from the water with 
    
    the grace of a dancer, with Bolt still on her back, her exquisite plumes swaying with the music.
    
    Meanwhile the cascading tower sucked in one Zubat after another with a bubbling sucking sound, like water down the drain. Bolt 
    
    leapt from Aqua's back and into the air when the last one was slurped up, and an imagined burp.
    
    "MaaarEEEP!"  A jolt of thunder vibrated of the walls and I was blinded but electric white light. My eyeballs seared through their 
    
    closed lids. When the fireworks display was finished, I forced them open and saw Aqua catch Bolt inches before he struck the 
    
    water.
    
    She pulled up and glided on unfelt air currents. She fluttered beside me.
    
    "_Wake up Topaz. Don't go to sleep_," she whispered, nudging my head. But I had watched all this with distant fascination, like 
    
    watching a really late movie on T.V. You tell yourself "I'll just shut my eyes for a moment..."
    
    "Fury. Mystic." I muttered but not really caring. All I needed was sleep. A familiar shadow fell over me. A cool laugh was the last I 
    
    heard before I slipped into a deep sleep.


	6. WOC 6

**_Jeese! Chapter five already! Glad to see I've made it that far, hope you are too. Any created Pokemon belong to me, you _**
    
    **_know Fireline {popular one so far}, Artico, so email me when you use them so I can take a squiz at your work. _**
    
    **_Shirasharmi@hotmail.com _**
    
    **The Union Reunion**
    
    Nothing.
    
    That's what I first saw when I woke up. I tried to reach up and shift the position of my lopsided Orange League cap, but my hands 
    
    were wrapped around behind a stalagmite, tied tight. I jerked my head and my cap flipped sideways and hung from my Ponyta tail. 
    
    I should have left it on. Instead of the cold wet stone floor next to the churning water were the eight beginning trainers I'd started 
    
    with and three others I didn't know. Each was tied to a stalagmite next to another pool of water. A shadow floated in the centre and 
    
    I could hear it whimper sadly to itself. 
    
    Adam and Ashlee were tied together on a stalagmite opposite me. They snapped and barked at each other, blaming the other for 
    
    the mess they were in now. Tiffany, the blond hair girl how had taken Cleffa, and another girl, short with spiky green hair jutting 
    
    from her head, sat talking quietly to one another against the pillar that held them tight. Ryan, the short kid who'd chosen 
    
    Charmander, and Matthew, the owner of Pichu, were tied to another but stared into the distance as if imagining this wasn't 
    
    happening and all was fine.
    
    Sky, tall blond boy who'd chosen Mareep, sat cracking jokes trying to cheer everybody without much success. He was constantly 
    
    told to shut up by Adam and Ashlee, without much success.
    
    A shot distance away, Kylie the brown hair mouse who'd left with Igglybuff, a girl with long curly pale rose colour hair, and a boy 
    
    with long blonde hair were around the same stalagmite. The boy looked ready to blow. His sat with his knees to his chest 
    
    muttering in a low guttural speech. The girls were sobbing, I couldn't tell if it was there lack of freedom that made them cry, or 
    
    Sky's corny jokes.
    
    Behind me bound to the same stalagmite was Sumalee, snoring softly and drooling slightly. Her red streaked black hair fell into 
    
    face, her legs outstretch in a V. All the trainers were helpless and Pokeless, as was I, but I had hope. At least a few of my 
    
    Pokemon were hidden and could try to free us. I twisted my head for a better view of our surroundings. A pile of our Pokeballs was 
    
    sorted by colour. 
    
    I spied my crimson Pokeballs near the edge of the pile. Only five of them were full. My mind raced as I tried to determine who was 
    
    missing. 
    
    "Fury, Chilun, Mystic, Aqua, Talorn," I murmured to myself and then groaned loudly. Bolt was missing. With that inattentive 
    
    Mareep wandering around we had next to no chance of escape 
    
    I shook my head to relieve it of the fog that wrapped around my brain but only made it ache. My mind stumbled along trying to 
    
    think of anything to escape. From Superman, to the Wings of Council swooping in and beating the stuffing out of these morons. As 
    
    they say, Faith has to do with things that are not seen, and hope with things that are not in hand.
    
    I groaned again at the thought of Bolt sitting in the middle of the Zubat hall twiddling his paws and Suma's snoring changed note. 
    
    Adam and Ashlee stopped bickering and squinted in the gloom.
    
    "Your awake!" they said, and than glared at each other as if arguing who said it first. Like it mattered. 
    
    I nodded slowly so not to aggravate my throbbing temples. "How long have you been here?"
    
    "Four days. They took us by surprise and before we could use our Pokemon we were out like a light by some sort of sleep powder. 
    
    When we woke up they had our Pokeballs. Some of these guys were here before us. Sky was and hasn't shut up about, Did you 
    
    here about the one why the Farfetch'd crossed the road," Adam said, his shoulders sagging.
    
    Ashlee continued to explain. "They give us minimal food and water and than taunt us by making our Pokemon do humiliating 
    
    chores. Each time they're let out of their Pokeballs they try to escape. And because only one or two are allowed out at a time they 
    
    overwhelmed by the other Pokemon. Your lucky you didn't see what they did to your Natu."
    
    Imagining was a lot worse than actually seeing it. My mind eye concocted nameless forms performing various tortures on Mystic. 
    
    All the while she cried out to me for help. I shook away the images and growled as loud as my parched throat would let.
    
    "If I get my hands on whoever has my Pokemon, they're going to be cleaning their teeth by shoving a toothbrush up their as...."
    
    My threat was interrupted as five shadows slipped from the shadows. "Big words for one in such a condition as you," Angel said in 
    
    his whisper soft voice. His white hair and ice blue eyes gleamed cold in the darkness analysing every detail of my pathetic state. I 
    
    looked down and saw for myself.
    
    My red and black sneakers were a ghost of there former selves. The shoelaces were ragged and the soles were melted from the 
    
    fire. My legs were shredded and congealed blood was matted everywhere, I couldn't have stood up had I wanted too. My poor 
    
    uniform! Charred at the cuffs, bloods stains were everywhere from the Zubats attack it would have taken a miracle wash to restore 
    
    it to its former glory. Rips and holes were so numerous I was lucky it covered the essentials.
    
    Too bad I failed Home Economics, I thought mournfully even though it wasn't the least of my problems. 
    
    My arms were scarred so badly I almost couldn't believe what they had looked like when Healtia had cured my burns. My 
    
    fingernails were nothing but nubs as well as chipped and dirty. I couldn't see my face and I didn't want to.
    
    "Can't do your Karate now can you," he scorned.
    
    To my utter surprise Suma snapped awake and roared so loud I think even Angel was taken aback.
    
    "WHY YOU SPYING LITTLE PERVERT! WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL YOU FACE FROM 
    
    YOUR ASS!"
    
    "No one can do that anyway," I said as I glared daggers at Angel.
    
    "Come come, that's no way for guests to speak of their host," he chuckled. "Why don't you meet my associates? Ricky, Renee, 
    
    Kathy and Pug. I'm sure they'll do they're best to keep you comfortable," Angel mocked.
    
    Ricky stood tall and erect beside him; his broad shoulders back so to make himself look more dangerous than he really was. His 
    
    orange hair looked more like the spines of a Quilfish and his hazel eyes glittered venomously. His mouth was set in a permanent 
    
    sneer. A real braggart.
    
    His partner Renee was another matter altogether. She hung off Ricky's arm possessively, but if did have any interest in her other 
    
    than business; there's no way I would have guessed it. Short and stubby, her identical rocket uniform seemed to strain to keep her 
    
    bulge hidden. Fire engine red hair was coiled around her head like a beehive. Way too much blue eye shadow was heaped under 
    
    her bland green eyes. It was amazing she had any confidence at all, let alone all she had.
    
    Kathy and Pug were so much alike the must have been related. Each had a slim frame, Pugs more masculine and Kathy's 
    
    shapelier. Both had a mass of lavender curls, Kathy's cascaded down to her waist and framed her delicate heart shaped face. 
    
    Large green eyes were her main feature but her soft pink lips were a close second. Sky ceased his eternal yammering to stare.
    
    Pug was the other side of the same coin. His hair was a shade darker and hung by his ears, adorned by a single gold stud. His 
    
    eyes were more of a sea green and studied everything with great interest. He must play chess because I could practically here the 
    
    wheels in his head thinking six move forward.
    
    I was suspicious. "Where's Tobias?" I asked slowly.
    
    "Here," he smirked coming out of the darkness out our left. It was my turn to yell and scream.
    
    "YOU SNIVELING WORM! YOU COWARD!" I screamed even though my throat protested. My tone then turned soothing, and 
    
    desperate. 
    
    "Come on Noctowl, you remember me don't you? You were a HootHoot and you were hiding from him. I caught you, fed you and 
    
    trained you. He stole you, Noctowl. Please help us?"
    
    The Noctowl on Tobias's shoulder cocked its head and looked at me quizzically. I noticed its feather shone, brightening the area 
    
    and I could make out the silhouette on the water. A long elegant neck arched from a spiky shell that covered its back. Thinking 
    
    through my studies I placed it as a Lapras. But it was so tiny and frail. No more than a child.
    
    "What's with the Lapras?" I changed the subject coldly.
    
    Tobias's usual scowl changed to one Caesar must have worn before he crushed Hannibal on the Alps.
    
    "Our latest triumph! A Lapras, no matter how weak, is worth more than all your Pokemon put together. When we show it to our 
    
    superiors we will be forgiven for our last mess up.
    
    Angel sent he a cold stare that said all to clearly who had bungled it.
    
    "Then why isn't it in a Pokeball?" Adam pointed out.
    
    Renee spoke up and I wish she hadn't, though the information proved useful. 
    
    "We haven't caught it yet. Our Pokemon can't reach it. Tobias's Wartortle and Ricky's Tenticool can't weaken it and your Pokemon 
    
    refuse to battle."
    
    God! If I were Ricky I would have jumped off a building long ago, or at least asked for a new partner. Anything was better than 
    
    listening to Renee's nasal, squeaky gate voice. But then again flattery works wonders. Probably explained his big head too.
    
    The green haired girl near Tiffany scoffed. "So, six incredible Team Rockets can't beat one baby Lapras? Pitiful! How far is the 
    
    image of the greatest Pokemon thieves of all time gonna fall when the world hears of this!" She snickered but was cut off by 
    
    Tobias's punishment of no food for tonight. We all groaned but no one turned on the girl. It was good to see our team still had spirit 
    
    left.
    
    "Your braver than you look," I complemented.
    
    "You too, I didn't believe Sumalee when she first told us of your adventures, but from the looks of you, now I'm not to sure."
    
    I nodded. "Zubat's," I said as if it were no more than blowflys on a summers evening. Yes I know, flattery gets you nowhere, but I 
    
    wasn't immune. "And you are?"
    
    "Darcy Daniel's, or DC for short, soon to be Master of the Johto League!"
    
    After a round of protests, I answered with a grin, "Topaz Matthews, soon to be Master of the Wings of Council!"
    
    "Shut up or no food tomorrow either," yelled Tobias.
    
    I decided not to argue. I whispered goodnight to my friends, old and new, prayed, to who I don't know because I'm an atheist, that 
    
    the Pokemon were alright and for strength, courage, and knowledge to survive the following days.
    
    It was difficult to get to sleep, none what so ever for Sumalee who after minutes was snoring soundly, but after struggling with the 
    
    chains for a while, I manoeuvred into an almost comfortable position so that they didn't dig into my wrists a as much and stared 
    
    into the darkness....
    
    I must have fell asleep because when I woke up, I was famished. An enticing smell fluttered under my nostrils, but when I peeled 
    
    my eyes open, I saw it was nothing more than a slice of bread with honey on it. But I didn't complain, I tried to grab it but my 
    
    chains yanked me back.
    
    I took my eyes off the feast for a moment to see who offered it.
    
    "Go torment someone else, Angel," I barked, trying to reach for my food.
    
    "So be it, Topaz," he smiled with contempt and placed the bread on the ground on front of me. He picked himself up of the ground 
    
    with the grace of his name, laughed at me again and turned to feed a Ryan.
    
    Gawd! I make us sound like a pack of mongrel dogs.
    
    Anyhow I twisted and turned until I had the corner of the crust and pulled it closer. I ripped off as much as I could and swallowed 
    
    greedily, another strip and another until it was all gone. I frantically tried to lick the last of the honey around my lips. It was 
    
    demeaning, I know but I needed energy if we were to escape. The others had settled back into being good little prisoners while I 
    
    studied my surroundings further, hoping for inspiration. There were three exits, one to the left where I had apparently come in, one 
    
    to the left, which the Rockets kept disappearing in and out of. That was two down and out. The third was across the water and 
    
    seemed to be guarded by the tiny Lapras. The first specks of a plan were forming in my itty-bitty brain.
    
    I saw four Pokemon being lead out of the second exit, a Smeargle, his tongue hanging out, panting. Cactokori the grass type 
    
    Pokemon that looked like a cactus and a beginning Pokemon of the Metone area, his green eyes tinged with sadness as Ricky 
    
    whipped him. Suma's Fireline yowling like, well, a cat on a hot tin roof and embers flashing in the gloom. Abra, fading in and out as 
    
    it tried to teleport, but a silver devise wrapped around its bony wrist somehow kept it from using the technique.
    
    A flicker of movement suddenly caught my eye in the first tunnel. I turned and focused on the wisp of blue just inside. Cal's 
    
    mischievous grin widened as he saw I knew where he was. At his side was a dazed Mareep. This had changed the situation for the 
    
    better and I nodded that I had a plan.
    
    "Who trains Abra?" I whispered and waited till the message was passed down the line. I was lucky when the reply returned that it 
    
    was Rose, the girl that sat with Kylie and she was to the right and ahead of me so we could talk easily.
    
    "Do you have a TWT?" A TWT was a Telepathic Wave Translator. You hooked it up to your ear and allowed you to control a 
    
    psychic Pokemon without having telepathic powers and this was what my new plan relied on. 
    
    Rose shook her dainty head. My heart did a double beat, but I couldn't get head of myself, pride comes before a fall, so to say. 
    
    She may have caught Abra, not knowing about the requirements.
    
    "Are you psychic?" She hesitated, and then nodded again. 
    
    "OK, now where in business! Look behind you out of the corner of your eye and you'll see a kid with blue hair. That's Cal and we 
    
    need him to escape. Would you be able to tell him what I tell you? Guys, your gonna have a game of Chinese Whispers. Ready 
    
    Rose?"
    
    "I can direst your thoughts to him and his to you," she said, barely a whisper.
    
    "Can you broadcast it to the others and those Pokemon?" I asked, my grin widening. She nodded eagerly.
    
    I focused my mind and began to relay my plan to my friends, Cal and the captive Pokemon.
    
    "Don't jerk. Continue with what you are doing and make no sign your listening to me. Now pay attention, I've got a plan to get us 
    
    out of here and I need everyone's cooperation. Jump in if you've got something that may improve the plan, telepathically. OK 
    
    now.............Cal...............Keys..................Bolt............Now everyone got it?"
    
    People and Pokemon gave some indiscernible sign they'd acknowledged the final plan.
    
    "Break communication," I said to Rose, who was looking a little weary. "You did well. When this is over, I'll make sure you get the 
    
    credit."
    
    I sighed. "Step One, diversion. Hey! Angel!" 
    
    He looked up from supervising the Pokemon and walked towards me, a swagger in his steps. "Yes Topaz?" He said in his soft, 
    
    musical voice.
    
    "These guys have had at least one meal more than me, so how about another slice of bread, eh?"
    
    The others immediately began to complain loudly, just as I had told them to. The Rockets turned to watch the commotion. Ricky, 
    
    Renee and Tobias started to chuckle like Shuckles, Kathy and Pug stood together only observing.
    
    "Topaz! That's quite unlike you," Angel said, basking in delight as I sucked up to him.
    
    "Please," I implored, playing him like the arrogant fool he was. "Look, here I am kissing your ass, at least give me something to 
    
    get rid of the taste!"
    
    He smiled slyly to his team members and than replied, exaggerated. "Of course Topaz. Anything to make your stay more 
    
    comfortable."
    
    Angel shot a glance at Kathy and she returned with a slice of bread, handing it to him. Angel smirked again and placed the bread 
    
    on the stone floor, just out of my reach. This was too easy.
    
    I made a show of straining to get the bread, making animalistic sounds, and smearing honey all over my face. I made my eyes 
    
    wide with the thought of food, all Rockets roaring with laughter. I should have earned some kind of acting award it was so good. 
    
    None of them were paying to the Mareep waddling behind them. Bolt stopped directly behind Angel loving every moment as I 
    
    degraded myself further.
    
    "_Mreeeeeep_!" Team Rocket was so surprised they ignored me and twisted to see the Pokemon sitting in the middle of the floor as 
    
    innocent as Seraph, a crystal messenger bird used by skilled trainers.
    
    "FLASH!" I screamed and screwed my eyes shut, hoping the others did too. Someone could have been shining a powerful 
    
    spotlight in my eyes, detonated a nuclear warhead or made the sun explode because Bolt's flash felt like that all rolled to one. I felt 
    
    the darkness settle again and when I opened my eyes, 
    
    Rockets were stumbling around blindly and Cal and the other Pokemon were already in action.
    
    Cal ran to where Tobias leaned against a wall and punched him in the jaw. He slammed against the wall and slid to the bottom, 
    
    out for the count. Cal snatched the keys from his belt and soon knelt before Ryan to unlock his chains. After freeing him, he 
    
    tossed him the keys and joined the scrum between the Rockets and our Pokemon.
    
    Smeargle dabbed Renee's face with an acid substance from his paintbrush. Cactokori clutched Ricky's leg, driving his needles in 
    
    with a vengeance. Cal's Marill shot a blast of water at Pug, who had been standing near the edge of the water. I say had because 
    
    after a moment of windmilling his arms to regain his balance, gravity won out and he fell in with a huge splash. Meanwhile Fireline 
    
    and Poliwhirl set to work releasing our Pokemon from their Pokeballs. After a moment's hesitation, they too joined the fight. Ryan 
    
    was in a frenzy trying to unlock the chains. As each was freed they grabbed their Pokeballs and packs, and leapt into the water to 
    
    swim to the other side. As Ryan came to kneel beside me, he whispered with a smile, "Genius this was!"
    
    "You guys helped as much with your ideas, this is all our plan." I heard the click of the lock as it opened and he tried Sumalee's. I 
    
    tried to stand but my legs felt like rubber and refused to obey. 
    
    "Damn it!" I swore to myself. There was one variable I'd forgotten in my brilliant equation, me. My inability to move could cost me 
    
    my freedom. I decided to rest and try again in a few minutes.
    
    I saw Cal had Ricky, who was considerably larger, in a complicated arm lock with Renee pounding on his back squealing, "Let him 
    
    go! Let him go!" 
    
    Sumalee was let loose and saw Cal's distress. She ran and took Renee out with a simple crack to the temple. Her Butterfree soon 
    
    had Ricky paralysed and the two were taken captive. I surveyed the area and it seemed the other four had fled and we were safe. I 
    
    cursed again and got to my feet using the stalagmite for support. 
    
    It seemed I spoke too soon about being safe as I felt Angel's slender hand on my shoulder and a cold, steel knife across my 
    
    throat.
    
    "Everybody stop," he said calmly and clearly. The Pokemon and their trainers obeyed. Fury growled from the corner she had taken 
    
    refuge and tended her wounds. 
    
    I, Topaz, who had survived rival jealousy, suicidal falls, raging bushfires, suffocating darkness, hungry Zubat's and Sky's corny 
    
    jokes, shook, ready to pee my pants, as the knife pressed lightly against my exposed throat.
    
    "All Pokemon follow me. Any refuse to comply and Topaz here will be extremely sorry."
    
    I snapped. I reacted with such speed it must have been instinct. I drove my elbow in his stomach, as quick as thought I brought 
    
    my fist into his groin and then flicked my arm upwards and into his face. Angel dropped the knife and curled into the foetal position 
    
    cupping his hands between his legs.
    
    I laughed. It felt good to deprive the arrogant fool deprived of his manhood. I kicked the knife weakly away and stumbled a short 
    
    distance to where Fury lay and comforted her. I turned just in time to see a cloud of smoke sweep through the air, obscuring all 
    
    movement.
    
    "Pidgey, Whirlwind," I heard a trainer call from across the water. The cloud was whisked away, Angel with it.
    
    I guess I should have been angry he'd run, but to be honest, I was relieved. There's was know way I'd have been able to get him to 
    
    shut up until we handed him over to Officer Jenny.
    
    Cal was the hero, he lead the way with Ricky and Renee in tow and a Lapras in his Pokeball. She was too young to fend for 
    
    herself and Call offered to train it. No one was sure what happened to her mother, but Lapras was happy to leave the eternal 
    
    darkness.
    
    I, on the other hand, was on the edge and the whole group was threatening to push me off. I spent most my time hanging between 
    
    Adam and Sky, being jolted every five seconds. Adam spent most of the time arguing with Ashlee, while Sky was always trying to 
    
    crack on to her. Locklen, the boy who owned Cactokori, which evolved into Cactori in the battle along with a few others, was 
    
    picking fights with every one. I was so close to ripping his spiteful little tongue out, except Adam and Sky held me tight. The only 
    
    one he respected was Sumalee, after she told him about her brown belt and hectored him about using the same technique I did on 
    
    Angel.
    
    Fury was as happy as a Cloyster. After a Superpotion she was on her paws again yapping with Maverick and burning everything 
    
    that looked remotely like a Zubat. Can't say I blamed her, I was pretty jumpy, even though it was the last thing I could do.
    
    We emerged into the sunlight two days later, me clutching the last threads of my sanity. My legs her healing fast but were still 
    
    dead weights. Fortunately once in the open I could balance on Chilun. I made a note to myself to try getting some riding lessons 
    
    so we could travel faster in the future. 
    
    The group dispersed in different directions, most towards Azalea and its gym, some into the long grass trying to flush out 
    
    Pokemon, Locklen was crazy enough to go back into Union Cave claiming to catch the other Rockets and get a huge reward.
    
    I didn't like it. It was like having a younger Tobias, selfish, egotistic and primitive. If there's two things I can't stand in life is 
    
    arrogance and ignorance, yet everywhere one looked...
    
    Unfortunately, we were put in charge of Ricky and Renee. I demanded we gagged Renee, but she still made squealing noises 
    
    through the material. Ricky was easy; we kept filling his already oversized head with more complements. I guess Renee thought 
    
    we were trying to steal him off her. 
    
    Yeah, right.
    
    As we walked through the twilight towards Azalea Town I said to Sumalee, looking like a Sunflora with her grin, "Alright little Miss 
    
    Sunshine, if your such an optimist, what's the silver lining to this little day at the beach? My legs are stuffed, we're dragging along 
    
    two convicts and if we don't want Tweedledee and Tweedledumber to escape, we'll have to take watches during the night."
    
    "We triumphed and came out stronger, in mind, body and spirit!"
    
    I choked! "Speak for yourself!"


	7. WOC 7

**_Hi people, I think that as this fic goes on, I give my characters more personality, especially me, the character becomes _**
    
    **_more like real life me. Not one of those glorified characters that is always right, but no worries! Any created Pokemon, _**
    
    **_Korin and Kunundrum and such, please email me once their used cos I like to see we're they're all getting to, _**
    
    **_Shirasharmi@hotmail.com _**
    
    **Damn it!**
    
    "Topaz, wake up."
    
    "Grnummmble."
    
    "Get up, its your watch!"
    
    "Grrnummmble."
    
    "Wake up or you'll be sorry."
    
    "Grrrr."     
    
    "Fine, Renee sing Brother my Brother."
    
    I jolted awake as Renee butchered the notes to my favourite song. "Shut up Renee. Cal, if you so that again you'll sincerely 
    
    regret."
    
    Cal didn't care, he had already recalled Wartortle and in his sleeping bag. I grumbled some more and dragged myself to sit by the 
    
    dying embers of the fire. Seemed Cal was too lazy to throw another log on. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and stood to grab 
    
    some more wood from the pile we had collected that afternoon.
    
    "Damn it!" Cal had also used the last of the firewood too. Since it was my shift, I knew it was about three in the morning and had 
    
    to guard these misfits, Ricky and Renee, from escaping. They were more trouble than they were worth. They were obviously of low 
    
    ranks due to their stupidity, Renee in particular who sounded like a squeaky gate, but then again both had IQ's in the high sixties 
    
    at the most.
    
    I stared moodily at Fury. She still lay snug as a bug in my sleeping bag. I know she was awake when it my watch started, but she 
    
    was just too lazy to get up. Now I know 
    
    Pokemon take on qualities of their trainers, but aren't they meant to be the good ones? I am a pretty loyal person, aren't I? 
    
    Shouldn't she be loyal and keep me company?
    
    Maverick stay with Suma on first watch, Cal and Wartortle shared their turn and here I was by myself with no fire.
    
    "Damn it!" I repeated with a little less aggression and a little more depression. I didn't want to leave Fatty and Skinny unguarded, 
    
    but I didn't want to wake my Pokemon. After a long debate, comprising entirely of should not and should too; I decided Mystic 
    
    should keep watch because he liked to stare. After promising not to stray to far, I set off in search of the rare and elusive firewood.
    
    Let me tell you, it is considerably hard navigating in the dark looking for firewood and there wasn't a Chansey of me using Bolt to 
    
    light the way. After wandering in circles dragging a huge log that should have lasted at least an hour, I made it back to camp.
    
    "DAMNIT!!!" I screamed and cursed some more. Suma and Cal stirred from their slumber.
    
    "What's wrong?" Suma said bleary eyed. Maverick waddled with her to stand by Cal. 
    
    Fury didn't even roll over. They all stared at me as I yelled obscenities to the heavens above.
    
    "Ricky and Renee escaped," I said through gritted teeth as I scooped up Mystic. Team 
    
    Rocket had trampled him as they made their getaway. I could still see their footprints stamped on his lovely green and black 
    
    patterned feathers.
    
    "Never mind," Suma smiled sympathetically. "Now we can get a good nights sleep and we don't have to worry about telling officer 
    
    Jenny when we reach Azalea."
    
    I looked up from where I sat cradling Mystic. "Have you ever had a bad hair day?" I cried in shrill voice.
    
    "Forget it, both of you. We'll find them in the morning; they've got the combined IQ of a brick. If you want to find them we need to 
    
    sleep." Cal got back into his sleeping bag and pulled over his face.
    
    Sumalee shrugged, picked up Maverick and crawled inside her sleeping bag. Within moments I could hear their relaxed breathing 
    
    and the swish of Mavericks tail against the material. 
    
    I clenched my fists and wished for something hard to throw at her, preferably a bowling ball. I gave up on the idea a rolled Fury 
    
    from the centre of the bag so I could fit. She opened one eye and bared her teeth.
    
    "Shut up or your going in the Pokeball," I said non diplomatic. She closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep. I stared into the sky 
    
    with a weird feeling at the base of my spine, like something was missing. I shrugged it off and drifted into slumber dreaming about 
    
    what I would do to those two Rockets once my hands were around their necks.
    
    My hunch the night before was right. When I last saw Ashlee I had forgotten to give her the Egg and now it was missing.
    
    Watch out Ricky and Renee, I thought with a lot more than intended malice in mind. 
    
    **Topaz is on the warpath.**
    
    "They're not here!" I yelled. Even Fury was keeping her distance and she was used to my temper by now. I lashed out at an
    
    unlucky overhanging branch and leaves fluttered to the ground. A green and black face poked from beneath the leaf litter.
    
    "Spinna?" It emerged entirely from the fallen leaves allowing me to stop fuming for the moment. The face was not a face at all, but 
    
    a pattern on the Pokemon's abdomen. Three furry green and black striped legs extended on both sides. Its head was composed of 
    
    only its beady little black eyes and wicked venomous pincers.
    
    Without thinking I snatched a Pokeball from my crudely mended uniform and threw it at the Pokemon. It struck the Pokemon and 
    
    rolled away. The clear lid popped open and played the Leagues Anthem. My Zephyr Badge Flashed in the almost nonexistent 
    
    sunlight due to the low hanging clouds.
    
    I pitched another Pokeball twice as hard at the Pokemon, not wanting to be outwitted by the bug. It was sucked in without 
    
    hesitation. My customized entirely red Pokeball rocked back and forth. I practically dared it to open so I could through something 
    
    else. It came to a standstill and I reached out to put it with the others but it shone with a fierce white light like it was evolving, and 
    
    then flickered from sight.
    
    "Damn it," I spat through my teeth. I wanted to check out the creatures Pokedex before it disappeared but I actually had to know 
    
    the Pokemon's name if I wanted information on it now. 
    
    I picked my Badge Case off the grass and placed it in its on my shirt. I calmed a moment, took a deep breath and said in a 
    
    dangerously low voice, "Combined IQ of a brick, eh Cal. Well that brick has not only eluded us but has stolen Ashlee and 
    
    Professor Elms Egg. Man, they're gonna kill me."
    
    Foolishly, I thumped a defenceless tree as we passed. The punch jarred my wrist sending shock waves up my arm. With a "Damn 
    
    it!" I jumped up and down like my feet were on fire and waved my hand frantically trying to relieve the pain.
    
    "Hey, you!" I turned towards the source and saw a middle-aged man in one of those long grey trench coats. "Wanna buy a 
    
    Slowpoketail?" He said and opened one side of it to reveal carious pale pink and white tipped appendages. I could almost see 
    
    them flopping about like a lizards when it comes off.  My mouth dropped open unbelieving. "What? Don't like Slowpoke? I got 
    
    Raichu, Meowth and Vulpix." He flipped open the other, like a watch salesman displaying his wares.
    
    I didn't wait. I rushed forward to pushed him inside the well he was standing in front of but Suma and Cal grabbed my arms and 
    
    Fury and Maverick took my ankles an a sharp hold.
    
    "Heh heh," Suma said with a fake laugh. "She's such a kidder. You haven't seen two kids a bit older than us. A short girl with red 
    
    hair in a weird hairdo and a tall boy with spiky orange hair?"
    
    The man's eye's widened, as if he recognized them I reckon, and answered a snooty offended no. Cal thanked him and pushed me 
    
    in the direction of Azalea town. When were out of view Fury put her paw on my shoe. 
    
    _"You trying to get yourself killed," _she asked, her ears erect. 
    
    "Shut up, who asked you," I snarled and kicked her paw away.
    
    Fury's eyes turned the size of golf balls. _"Well! If that's how you feel, you can forget about me battling for you at the Gym!" _
    
    "Oh come on Fury," I whined, regretting what I said. "Who ever heard of a Quilava giving someone the cold shoulder? She ignored 
    
    me. I grumbled a damn it and looked out at the Skyscrapers rising out of the grass in front of us. I groaned and hoped my luck 
    
    changed by the time we challenged Bugsy.
    
    It didn't.
    
    The only thing worse than an excessively idealistic Joy is an extremely depressed one. 
    
    While we sat in the waiting room shovelling down our first unburned meal since we left the PokeCentre outside Union Cave, she 
    
    stood at the counter staring outside. Every now and again she'd sigh sadly. Sumalee finished her share and went to talk to her.
    
    "Come on Nurse Joy! Turn your frown upside down and let it be your umbrella!"
    
    I snorted. "Yeah Sumalee. You stay outside in the middle of tonight's storm and see how you feel in the morning."
    
    Cal, Maverick and Fury started to laugh at her. Even the corners of Nurse Joy's mouth turned up a little. I looked down at Fury to 
    
    see if she'd forgiven me yet. She saw me staring at her and stopped at once. Guess not.
    
    Suma stopped giving us dark looks when she realized it wasn't working and asked Nurse Joy what was wrong.
    
    "Oh my," she replied melancholy. "Our towns Slowpokes have gone missing. It may not seem like a lot to tourists, but Slowpokes 
    
    are a part of Azalea Towns history. There's a legend that says a long time ago there was and extremely bad drought. The crops 
    
    wouldn't grow and livestock wouldn't produce. That's when a strange shiny Slowpoke appeared in the well just outside of town, 
    
    Slowpoke's Well. It crawled across town and to the pinnacle of the Forest Guardians Tower, in Ilex forest. It yawned. Clouds 
    
    gathered form all directions to linger of the Slowpokes Well. The moment the Slowpoke closed its mouth the drought ended. 
    
    They've been out towns emblem ever since. They are highly respected and when a Slowpoke yawns its meant to summon rain." 
    
    Nurse Joy sighed again. It was beginning to get irksome. "And now all the Slowpokes in Azalea have disappeared without a trace 
    
    four days ago. I'm very worried about the PokeCentre's resident Slowpoke. He's wonderful at getting patients to calm down. I'm not 
    
    the only one worried though. Kurt, the towns resident Pokeball maker, has been searching for his daughters high and low. She's 
    
    become quite depressed and doesn't come down here anymore."
    
    "We might have a lead," Cal said soberly. "Come on let's go talk to him." He hefted his pack onto his shoulders and made for the 
    
    door.
    
    "Cal, two things. (a) We've got better things to worry about, namely the Egg and Team Rocket. (b) Your not going to be much help 
    
    with out your Pokemon."
    
    "Topaz, two things. (a) We're only going to talk and (b) I did plenty in Union Cave without my Pokemon."
    
    "You did not," I retorted. "What about Bolt, huh? You wouldn't have been able to do anything if the Rockets weren't stumbling 
    
    around blind as Zubats. And Suma's Butterfree used its stun spore so they wouldn't get away."
    
    "Could too."
    
    "Could not."
    
    "Too..."
    
    "Not," I said knocking on Kurt's door. "The only reason your arguing is because you're denying the truth."
    
    Before he could come back with his usual "cutting wit" the door swung inwards. 
    
    "Yes?" the man, most likely Kurt, asked. He was short, shorter than me and I'm about 1.4m (4 ft?). Bald as an Exeggscute on top 
    
    so that if he stuck his head in a shoe shine it would have been mistaken as a bowling ball. But not entirely, tufts of greying hair 
    
    semi circled the bottom of his head. He stared solemnly from beneath big bushy eyebrows.
    
    Cal coughed. "We think may have a lead to the missing Slowpokes."
    
    Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Really? Please come inside." He stepped out of the way so we could follow him sown a long hall into 
    
    beautiful sunroom, despite the lack of sun. He motioned for us to sit on a comfortable sofa and took a seat across from us.
    
    "What news do you have of the missing Slowpokes?" he inquired as his daughter came into the room.
    
    "Have they found Pokey?" she asked. Her eyes were sad and lonely, like she lost her best friend.
    
    "They think so, sweety. Now what?"
    
    "As we came into town, there was a man by Slowpokes Well. He was selling Slowpoke and various other Pokemon's tails." Cal 
    
    sounded like a professional, acted it too. Kurt on the other hand, went nuts. He shot out of his chair and flung open a cupboard. He 
    
    took out four Pokeballs and before we could ask him what was up, he was down the hallway, out of the house and racing in the 
    
    direction of Slowpokes Well leaving only a cloud of dust behind him.
    
    "What do we do?" I turned to them, flabbergasted.
    
    "Easy," Suma said losing the bright tone of her voice when she gets serious. "We follow him. He took his Pokeballs so that 
    
    means he's going into trouble."
    
    "We'll stop by the PokeCentre and grab our Pokemon. Come on we gotta hurry." Cal said nodding and breaking into a loping run. 
    
    Suma chased after him.
    
    "Easy for you to say!" I yelled angrily after them.
    
    I did make it to the PokeCentre, eventually, but they had already left. Without their Pokemon. The Pokemon weren't totally healed 
    
    when they had arrived and had to go without them, Cal most likely showing of again. Joy wouldn't let me take theirs with me 
    
    because it was against their policy. I nicked out of their on Chilun as fast as my aching as would let me, no more than a canter, 
    
    and Fury racing beside me. I swore every time I hit a bump, so pretty much every two seconds.
    
    When we reached the Well fifteen minutes later, Kurt and the man were in a Pokemon battle, Rattata vs. a Ledian, evolution of 
    
    Ledyba, and it was obvious who trained whom. Ledian hit Rattata with a final Comet punch and Rattata went down. The man 
    
    recalled Rattata and hissed at Kurt, "You'll be sorry you messed with Team Rocket," and dashed down the direction of Azalea. His 
    
    trench coat slipped from his shoulders revealing the Rockets black uniform with a red R blazoned across the front. I looked at Kurt 
    
    questionably as I fell off Chilun and recalled him.
    
    "Most Rockets have a code of honour. If you defeat them in a Pokemon battle they'll be cooperative," he answered gruffly and 
    
    began to press the bricks of the well. Each stood firm. He tapped the tiles of the roof and the decorative stones around the well. 
    
    Still nothing.
    
    We knocked against trees until Fury came across the crooked limb of a Banksia. Kurt flicked it and to our amazement, the 
    
    closest wall of the well caved in!
    
    On closer inspection the bricks had only fall into a position so it made a staircase, leading into the darkness. After a few 
    
    moments, the bricks relocated back to their former position.
    
    We flicked it again and without waiting Kurt leapt into the forbidding hole. Soon after there was a loud thud and a cry of pain. Cal, 
    
    Suma, Fury and I looked at each other and jumped down to find Kurt at the bottom leaning over awkwardly. He moaned again.
    
    "I put my back out."
    
    "Oh no," Suma squeaked. "We've gotta get out of here!" She looked around anxiously as if expecting boogiemen to jump out at 
    
    us.
    
    She and Cal took him over their shoulders and climbed up the already receding steps. I tried to follow but Kurt stopped me. "Don't. 
    
    You're the only one with Pokemon and those Slowpoke need you."
    
    I nodded and motioned Fury to lead. I was cut short when she glared at me and said, "I'm only doing this for the Pokemon."
    
    I was hurt. I only paused to mutter a quick damn it, because she was pretty the only one I could trust in caves, and followed her.
    
    It wasn't long before we encountered the Grunts, Rocket members. Most only had Zubat's, Rattata's and Ekan's and Mystic 
    
    defeated them easily. After the battles, they let use pass with nothing more then sworn revenge. I found it hard to believe that 
    
    these snakes had honour, but then again the oldest was no more than 17. I released my Pokemon and as I'd hoped Chilun stayed 
    
    calm, but tossed his head anxiously. I crawled onto her back with little trouble and I figured that we'd ride in there, create as much 
    
    chaos as possible and escape with the Slowpokes.
    
    "_Mreeeeeep_"
    
    I heard a cry of surprise from outside the tunnel. "I know that Mareep, its that girls!"
    
    "DAMNIT!" Bolt had wandered into the centre of the cavern and now various Rockets were advancing upon him. Oh well, may as 
    
    well make a dramatic entrance. Maybe we can stun them into giving up. 
    
    I sat erect on Chilun and ordered my Pokemon in a formation around me. When we were already, we ambled out there, looking the 
    
    picture of nobility. A walk in the park was more dangerous than these clowns.
    
    "I challenge you!" I announced to the Rockets who just stared at me, some scrawny kid who'd broke into there fortress of security 
    
    and had the audacity to just walk in where there were more than 20 of them, all ready to attack on a moments notice.
    
    I managed to get off Chilun with out falling in the dirt. "You heard me. I, challenge, you, to, a, Pokemon, battle!" I said slowly my 
    
    voice dripping with scorn. "3 on 3. You win, you get 3 of my Pokemon. I win, you give me 3 of your Pokemon and get the hell out 
    
    of here." 
    
    I saw Ricky and Renee down the back of the group. "And the Egg you stole. Also $2000 to the winner." I was bluffing, I didn't have 
    
    2000 bucks, but if these Pokemon were anything like the ones I battled before, I'd fly by.
    
    "We accept," an 18 year old said, clearly in charge of the operation. "But you will battle three of us, one Pokemon for each."
    
    "Agreed." I let them argue among themselves a little more until they had chosen who would battle me. They then formed a loose 
    
    circle around us indicating the size of the battleground. "Ready?"
    
    "Ready. You're going to battle Eric first," The ringleader said. Eric took up position on the base line and I did the same. I sized him 
    
    up and chose my first Pokemon. 
    
    "Talorn, I choose you!" She answered the call and took too the air. She circled impatiently while Eric choose his.
    
    "Kadabra, go!" 
    
    "Kadabrrra!" he cried as he escaped the Pokeball. Before I uttered a word Talorn plummeted from the ceiling, talons extended. As 
    
    she was about to rip Kadabra's face into shreds he Teleported from beneath her. Too late to change her course, she collided with 
    
    the ground. I gasped, but was quickly relieved as she picked herself of the ground, a little dazed. In that moment Kadabra 
    
    reappeared and launched a pulsing purple Psybeam. It caught Talorn at the base of her neck. A shrill agonizing shriek rent the air 
    
    and Kadabra ceased the attack to clutch his sensitive ears. Talorn wheeled to face him and mimicked the attack.
    
    I was beginning to feel dizzy. All this was happening to fast for my brain to compute and the whirlpool of reds, blues and purples 
    
    wasn't making me feel much better. Seeing me ready to fall, Chilun stepped closer to support me. I nodded thanks and returned to 
    
    watch the match.
    
    Since Talorn was of higher level, the attack was magnified and Kadabra was engulfed in a tornado of psychic energy. Talorn quit 
    
    the Psybeam and inhaled a huge gulp of air, then gasped for more. The attack had taken a lot out of her, but she was in a hell of a 
    
    better shape then that of Kadabra. His eyes had rolled back into his head and its limbs were limp. The wave of red light caught 
    
    Kadabra and returned it to its Pokeball. Eric compressed it and shoved it angrily in his pocket. He stepped aside for the nest 
    
    Rocket to battle me.
    
    A bead of perspiration slide down the contours of my nose and dropped on to Chilun's flank. I frosted over as it touched. Not only 
    
    was it stuffy in her but also I was nervous. 
    
    Talorn was my strongest Pokemon and Kadabra had left her badly out of breath. Her usually lustrous feathers were covered with 
    
    chaplets of sweat and her head drooped visibly. I debated whether or not to recall her, but I saw the gleam of light in her eyes that 
    
    said the only way she was going back in her Pokeball was if she fainted.
    
    Sage Li was right. My Pokemon were stubborn.
    
    A woman stepped up to the plate now. She had the same cocky grin Angel wore when he thought he was ahead. I quickly change 
    
    his expression just as I would change hers.
    
    "I choose you, Gail," she cried and tossed a Greatball into the centre of the makeshift arena. I scanned my memory trying to recall 
    
    any information on the Pokemon but came up blank. I wasn't surprised when a scarcely familiar Pokemon appeared from the ball. 
    
    Gail must have been a nickname.
    
    "Gira, Girafarig," she murmured, her head lowered. I saw faint scars crisscrossing patches of balding fur. The Pokemon must have 
    
    been poorly treated.
    
    "Sand attack," I ordered. Talorn gave a weak nod and waved her wings back and forth. A billowing cloud of dust covered the field. I 
    
    coughed hard as the dust particles caught in my throat.
    
    "Attack, you dumbass Girafarig!" A crack of a whip pierced the air followed by the wail of pain. I winced. Suddenly a shaft of light 
    
    cut through the dust lie a knife through butter. I heard a gasp and a loud thump. We waited for the dust to settle and my fears were 
    
    confirmed as I saw Talorns form lying on the ground. I recalled her and patted Chilun's well muscled shoulder. Chilun leaped 
    
    forward, his eyes wide with excitement. It was after all his first trainer battle. He pranced from one foot to the other while Gail only 
    
    stared at him steadily.
    
    "Confusion!" the woman yelled and lashed out with her whip. It slapped against Gail's haunch and a burst of energy short from her 
    
    stumpy horns as she skittered from beneath the whip. 
    
    The attack only skimmed Chilun's right flank but he went wild. He reared back and flailed his hooves madly. The Grunts closest to 
    
    him backed up to the skirts of the cavern. Chilun launched his own attack, an ice beam. A jagged blue lightning zapped through 
    
    the air. 
    
    Gail sidestepped, but not fast enough. Her back half, where the second head gnashed the air, froze solid. It collapsed and her 
    
    forelegs pawed at the ground to keep balance. I noticed Chilun stood still with his forefeet in the air, like an ice sculpture except for 
    
    his mane, which fluttered in a nonexistent breeze. Come to think of it, there was a breeze but it didn't come from the tunnel. 
    
    Goose bumps broke on my skin and I rubbed to keep myself warm. The air rose and fell about the room; I could see specks of 
    
    white floating on it. I followed the path it took around the cavern. Its spirals became tighter and more and more snowflakes could 
    
    bee seen. Soon a hurricane of snow and ice whipped around Chilun, still standing like a statue. His mane wavered frantically 
    
    billowing like a kid trying to blow out his birthday candles. A moment later the snow was so thick you couldn't see any of Chilun. I 
    
    took out my Pokedex to try and figure out the attack.
    
    "Unknown attack."
    
    Then record it in your memory," Dex gave a beep of confirmation and began rolling.  
    
    Chilun meanwhile had broken from his trance and screamed into the air. He brought his hooves down and the place trembled. The 
    
    gust of snow and ice seemed to die and drop to the ground but a moment later it revived itself and raced along the ground like and 
    
    arrow aimed right at Gail who was still feeling the bite of the whip. 
    
    The attack didn't hesitate and enveloped Gail in the Fury of the blizzard. 
    
    When it passed, the Girafarig was trapped in a case of ice. The woman lashed with the whip doing no more damage to the 
    
    glasslike structure than an insect. As the saying went, 'You can't wring blood from a stone. The woman recalled Girafarig with a 
    
    look of pure hatred on her face. I was making a hell of a lot of enemies on my journey and I hadn't even earned my second badge.
    
    A 15-year-old boy stepped up next, but he looked as if he had a lot more experience then me. He tossed a Pokeball into the ring. 
    
    A Houndour. It breathed a tongue of flame and grinned. Chilun, recovering quickly from the mystery attack pranced the ring again 
    
    confidently.
    
    "Beat Rush!" I yelled. Chilun charged with all the speed and grace that came with his kind. The blur crashed into Houndour and 
    
    Houndour crashed into his trainer. After no more then moment, he bounded off his trainer and exhaled a storm of fire at the 
    
    unprepared opponent. I roared over Chilun and refused to let go. A puddle of the melted crystals that usual covered his body 
    
    formed a puddle at his feet. He fell onto one knee then the other and soon he lay in a pool of water with his radiant blue flames 
    
    almost extinguished. I recalled Chilun with a heavy heart.
    
    No whom would I choose? Bolt was out of the question and Mystic and Aqua were tired from their battles earlier.
    
    "Fury go!" Fury stood firm at my side. "Go on, get. You said you were only in it to help the Pokemon so do it for the Pokemon." I 
    
    hissed so only she could hear. She glared at me and said in an equally low voice. "Fine. But I battle for myself."
    
    She stepped up to face the Houndour. He grinned at her, a little out of breath but none the worse.
    
    "Houndour, ember!" The liquid fire pelted Furies body harmlessly and she retaliated with a series of Slash and Bite attacks. 
    
    Houndour backed away to avoid them but couldn't escape tem all.
    
    "Now Flamethrower!" Again Houndour's mouth filled with inferno. Fury dodged the first column of flame, and the second. She then 
    
    leapt to latch her tiny jaws about his neck but was caught in the third blast.
    
    She screeched as it coiled around her, but Houndour ignored the sound where Kadabra didn't. She howled with pain and jerked 
    
    and spasms ripped through her body as if she were in her death throes. Houndour quit the barrage and set on Fury like a cat on a 
    
    mouse, which was a pretty accurate description since Fury was at least half his size.
    
    "Smokescreen!" I screamed. My heart pounded against my rib cage like a wild animal trying to escape. Fury heeded my warning 
    
    and exhaled the smoke hiding her from view.
    
    Houndour skidded to a halt before entering the cloud and looked confused. He looked at his trainer for help; the boy didn't know 
    
    what to do either.  While Houndour had his back towards her, Fury leapt out of the cloud and jaws wide but instead of snapping 
    
    onto his neck like she'd tried before she fired a volley of golden stars each hit Houndour and exploded like a shooting star. 
    
    Houndour staggered back. He was dazed and dizzy and fired a poorly aimed flamethrower.
    
    "Tamed Flame!" Fury flashed me an uncertain glance and howled. The flames did a U turn and crashed into Houndour.
    
    "Return to sender!" she yelped as Houndour rolled onto its back, its HP almost depleted. It lay in the middle of the makeshift ring 
    
    motionless but not beaten. Fury approached the enemy Pokemon cautiously, awaiting any sign that he might attack, but 
    
    suddenly, as soon as she came within striking range, the Houndour reeled to his feet and leapt into the air to come crashing down 
    
    on Fury's tiny body. Fury howled in pain and I cried out. 
    
    "I surrender!" I rushed to the middle of the floor and swept her into my arms. I swore again as the rockets began to close the circle. 
    
    "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!" I screeched, giving into panic. I was dead! My Pokemon would be taken and gawd knows my fate. I 
    
    glanced anxiously around the room and saw cage upon cage stacked in the far corner each filled with a Slowpoke. An idea 
    
    dawned in my head.
    
    "Ember over there!" Fury's collar of fire weakly extended just enough to clear a path to the back wall. I reached it and yanked on a 
    
    cage, trying not to rock the others.
    
    "_Slow_?" they asked looking perplexed.
    
    "Confusion!" I yelled as the Rockets closed in. Each Slowpoke stared at me with a dopey expression. 
    
    "DO SOMETHING!!!" I screamed hysterical. A Grunt took my arm but Fury fixed that. He jumped back screaming for water.
    
    "_Slow… Poke... Slow… Poke_," A Slowpoke on the bottom row began to head-butt his cage. It wobbled, as did the others above it. 
    
    "No! Don't! Damnit!" Too late more had taken up the chant and slammed their prison door. The Slowpoke who had started the 
    
    movement tipped his cage forward, the rest fell with it.
    
    I screamed as the world crashed down around me. I cage slammed me and drove me to the stone floor. I let go of Fury and tossed 
    
    her out of the mayhem, she rolled to safety. 
    
    Another and another smashed against my skull and lower back. The Slowpokes, well not exactly screamed, but cried out as they 
    
    were rocked within their prisons.
    
    Suddenly the avalanche stopped and the Rockets moved in again, but before they could, an orange and black striped blur burst 
    
    into the room and knocked them down like Bowling pins. I beautiful blue bird swooped down and pecked the unmercifully. Then, 
    
    what looked like a whole heap of prisms glued together floated out using a Tri Attack. Lightning ice and flame whirled about it 
    
    electrocuting, freezing and burning anyone with in striking distance. 
    
    Some familiar faces poked through the entrance, Cal, Suma, a boy and a girl, and a whole heap of police officers, adding more 
    
    terror to the chaos.
    
    After half an hour of utter, order was almost restored and Cal and the unknown boy pulled me form beneath the battered 
    
    Slowpokes, while the girl nursed Fury. Suma stood rummaging through the Rockets things and Maverick chewed on their ankles 
    
    while Officers hauled them away. 
    
    After another half hour I was at the Police station giving a statement of the account, Fury butting in if I had forgotten something. I 
    
    must say she lingered on her part and exaggerated her own heroics as well as mine.
    
    "Well," Officer Jenny said with a look of awe. "Looks like we owe you 3 Pokemon, $2000 and an Egg. You friends already have the 
    
    Egg, here's your $2000 and you can choose your Pokemon in here. Your friends can have one too. They were very responsible 
    
    when they were under pressure. Miss Erben has taken her share of the spoils, its only fair you should too." She nodded and went 
    
    back to check on the Team Rocket members.
    
    I chose my three, Gail, Houndour and an Eevee and sent them to Professor Elm.
    
    I called to Cal and Suma. It took Cal approximately two seconds to choose a Pokemon, a Monsoon, a long sinuous water 
    
    Pokemon, like small bluish water monitor. While Suma took a Shahman, a bird I'd missed. I swore but didn't really mind. I looked 
    
    out the door and the boy and girl were still there.
    
    "Come choose a Pokemon too!" I said with a grin. "As you can see, there's plenty to share."
    
    The girl came closer. She looked younger then me but was still quite a bit taller. Long Blonde ringlets fell down to her waist and 
    
    stunning green eyes studied me with interest. 
    
    There was something familiar about her but I couldn't put my finger on it.
    
    "Thanks for the Pokemon, I'm Moon," she said but then added curiously. "Are you alright? Those cages hit you pretty hard."
    
    I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm Topaz and believe me I've had worse."
    
    Moon smiled. "I know you! Your from the Route 32 bushfire."
    
    "And more. Go on, get your Pokemon." She nodded and went in search of a Pokemon.
    
    "Is this one alright?" It was the boy. I must've been shrinking because he was taller than me too. Brown hair framed his face and 
    
    his eyes were a warm chocolate brown. There was something about him too. He held a Pokeball labelled Stantler.
    
    "Sure, uh..."
    
    "Phil."
    
    "They're pretty strong when raised properly," I said as Moon returned with her own Pokeball. "What you get? I've got a Stantler." 
    
    "A Korin. I can't wait to train it!" she exclaimed. A Korin was a small ghost Pokemon known for its cute looks and fearsome 
    
    attacks. A Kunundrum, its evolved form, was so strong it could send a Tyranitar flat on its face.
    
    "Where are you two headed?" I asked curious.
    
    "The gym, after a bit of training," she said still smiling.
    
    I opened my mouth wide. "Your right. I might see you two around some time, but for now I'm off to battle Bugsy."
    
    "The Gym closes at 5:00," Moon said with a raised eyebrow. 
    
    "Damn it. Oh well, I'll do it tomorrow."
    
    "It isn't open then either," Phil answered. 
    
    "OK I'll get some training done. Care to join me?" 
    
    The two nodded happily. "We'll see you tomorrow. We've got a few things to do."
    
    "Seeya then." I waved them out the door. I was dead tired. I just hoped I had the strength to make it to the PokeCentre.


	8. WOC 8

Welcome, welcome to chapter 7! Any Pokemon here that are not official belong to me, if you'd like to use them, please tell me, at Shirasharmi@hotmail.com But Moon and her Glaceon belong to Emerald Dragon, a great story she check it out on the Library! 

**The Birth of Glaceon**  
Houndour darted across the space that separated him and Dragonair with lightning speed and slammed it with his shoulder. The 

Dragonair tucked into a wheel to break its fall. It got up dizzily and fired a volley of blue flames, a dragon rage attack. They struck in 

the centre of the silver skull that decorated Apollo's broad black forehead.  
"Return Apollo," I called as he disappeared into his Pokeball.  
Moon, Philip, Suma, Cal and I had been training all morning. I'd exchanged Mystic and Bolt for Apollo, my new Houndour, and my 

Eevee, Artemis. Gail was at Professor Elm's laboratory getting some TLC. She was in good hands and I'm sure Professor Elm was 

delighted with the chance of some more research.  
I caught some of the locals; Ledyba, Hoppit and Joust, a steel type Pokemon that resembled a knight of old except it's movement 

were fluid and graceful. Suma had caught a Hoppit too, but focused on evolving her Pokemon. Nidoran was now a  
Nidorina, Sentret was a Furret and Fireline wasn't far behind. Cal was way ahead of her though. A Quagsire and Typhoon, evolved 

Monsoon, and Azumarill were now his, and he was helping Lapras learn ice beam. Bu I noticed he eyed Moon's Dragonair jealously.  
I'd learnt much about Moon and Phil. Much to my surprise, Moons parents weren't hippies, just your average parents that don't let 

you stay up late or eat lollies before dinner. Moon had won some regional championships in Kanto so she was pretty experienced.

Phil was a normal type trainer and got on with Cal perfectly. If the two weren't arguing, which was better, water or normal, they were 

discussing the advantages of training one type.

After battling the wild Pokemon, I got bored and challenged Moon to a six on six battle. I chose Fury for my first Pokemon and she 

took out Moons Raichu with ease, but was beaten by her Ivysaur. After a scuffle between Ivysaur and Artemis, Artemis came out

on top. Moon's Arcanine was amazing. It defeated both Artemis and Aqua. Then I released the big guns and Talorn conquered 

Arcanine.  
That's when things got interesting and Articuno came into play. That's right, Articuno, a bird of the fabled Wings of Council, except 

this one was only a baby, no bigger than my Aquatro.

I drooled shamelessly.

But being small didn't make it any less powerful. After a stunning battle and a massive blast of energy, sending us running for cover, 

they were both left unconscious. We recalled them and chose our next Dragonair and Apollo. With Apollo down, I was left to

my last, Chilun. After an Ice Beam, Dragonair was down for the count. We both had only one Pokemon left.

"Eevee go!" she yelled with determination. Her Eevee was ready to rumble and growled, though it sounded more like a Meowth 

purring.

"Chilun! Beat Rush!" I roared, meeting the challenge. Chilun stampeded after the tiny Eevee. She panicked and ran but was no 

match for the Artico's superior speed. Eevee froze, like a Nidoran caught in the spotlight. Chilun reared up to leave an immense hoof 

imprinted on Eevee's face.

"Agility," Moon commanded her petrified Eevee. Something must have gotten through because she weaved in and out of the 

pounding hooves, nipping at the ankles. Suddenly she made a wrong move and Chilun crushed her fluffy tail. Eevee screeched and 

dug it's teeth into the flesh of Chilun's forefoot. He squealed, frantically pawing the air hoping to loosen his attacker. Her jaw gave 

way and was tossed into the air. She landed at her owners feet groaning.

"All right. Ready Eevee!" Moon said with a furtive grin. Eevee's eyes brightened and straitened herself, no longer in pain. Chilun 

watched warily. He'd learnt the first time and was still regaining his breath. Something big was going to happen and I hand to act 

now.

"Tundra Eruption!" I yelled, naming the attack he'd used yesterday. We'd been practicing, trying to make it a swifter and more 

powerful. The attack was strong and if done properly, would wipe Eevee out before she had a chance.

The air immediately grew cooler. Chilun pounded his hooves against the dirt and, like the dominos effect; a wave of ice swept it's 

way to Eevee, always picking up speed.

Eevee stood strong, waiting for her trainers commands. Now Moon chose to unleash the Eevee's power.

"Hyper Beam!" Eevee inhaled a swirl of golden energy storing in the back of her throat. She then breathed it out, the beam with it. 

Chilun danced nimbly aside and the attack hit a near by tree, He snickered, but was cut short when a fairly large branch broke from

above and brushed his rear end a little too closely. Meanwhile the Tundra Eruption had overwhelmed Eevee and encased her in ice.

Chilun escaped from beneath the branch and whinnied with triumph. His coat shimmered in the morning light. I suddenly realized 

that it wasn't just the rainbow light that usually reflected through his frosty pelt, he was evolving. His shape twisted and turned 

beneath the layer of light that now completely covered his body. When the light faded he was full grown Articolt.

Chilun screamed again and pranced up to me neck extended. I reached out and kissed his velvety nose.

"You legend!" I said exaggerating my Australian accent. "I've definitely got to get riding lessons now! But, for now, we gotta free 

Eevee."

Moon was leaning over the icy prison, pounding it with her fists. You couldn't even see Eevee beneath the frosted surface. If you 

even got close to it your breath misted in the air and if Moon didn't watch out she'd probably get frostbite.

"Allow me to offer Chilun's assistance," I said grinning, a tiny bit of a I beat you, I beat you! tone of voice. Moon gratefully accepted 

and he took up position beside the Eevee ice cube, ready to smash his harder than diamond hooves onto it. Chilun lined up his

aim and just a he was about to bring his full weight down, it started to melt.

Well not really melt, but the ice folded outwards and a Pokemon that wasn't Eevee stepped out.It was beautiful. It's lustrous white 

coat had a white sheen that flickered silver with every flowing step. On each of it's slim ankles were three silver rings banded 

together. The silver pigment continued up the fine hairs of the back of it's legs and painted the breast and stomach. It's sleek snowy 

muzzle nosed the air and it's rabbit like ears twisted with each new sound. Tendrils of ice curled from the tips and refracted the 

light.

"What is it?" Moon breathed. We both pulled out our Pokedex's and each answered simultaneously, "Unknown subject."

"Come on," I said recalling Chilun and replacing his ball back to his clip. "We can ask Professor Elm. He knows practically every 

thing about Pokemon evolution.

Moon shook her head. "Professor Oak a friend of my families, I'd more comfortable talking to him."

"We'll show both!" Suma exclaimed exasperated. She'd taken an instant dislike to Moon and was probably doing her best to sound 

civil.

"Are you going to recall it?" Phil asked, gazing at the Eevee evolution.

"Her," Moon said pointedly. "And no, I think I'll get to know her."  
"How? She doesn't have a translator," I asked sceptically. It was a beautiful Pokemon and if I duplicated the feat I could have one 

too.  
"With this. It allows me to understand what their saying." She held up a gold chain necklace, dangling from it was a crystal that 

shone with the same intensity as the ice Eevee.  
"So that's why you were arguing with Raichu," I said.  
"And we thought you were just schizophrenic," Suma replied snidely. "Let's go."  
Maverick squawked his approval and ran ahead. I think he remembered the almost eternal darkness of Union Cave and wanted get 

as far away from it as possible Moon glared stonily at Suma and started of in the direction of Azalea, the ice Pokemon  
trailing behind her obediently behind her.  
  


We arrived at Azalea a little later. Moon and I gave our fainted Pokemon to Nurse Joy and Moon insisted on calling Professor Oak. 

He greeted us warmly and made comments on my journey so far and what he'd heard on the news. I was rather flattered when he 

compared my adventures to those of Ash Ketchem. I told him of my goal to capture the Wings of Council. He gave and amused 

chuckle and upgraded my Pokedex to include more information.

Professor Oak observed Moon standing beside me and became remarkably animated.

"Ahh Moon, your parents told me of your situation. Now, how are you doing in the Johto League. Any new Pokemon?"

When she nodded his smile widened. "Topaz and I were battling. Her Artico used an attack that froze my Eevee solid. After her 

Artico evolved we were going to free Eevee, but before we had a chance, the ice melted and she stepped out." Moon walked back 

so he could see the Pokemon.

"Another Eevee evolution?" Professor Oak exclaimed. "It's genetic composition is much more unstable then I realized. Do you know 

how many evolutions there are now? About a week ago a girl from Pallet traded her Eevee with a Leaf stone into what she called 

Vineon. Originally if it came into contact with a Leaf stone nothing would happen and yet when it was traded it turned into the 

stunning creature it is now."

"In Lavender, when you first started your journey, Topaz, a boy and his Eevee were trying to capture a ghost Pokemon. A 

Kunundrum materialized behind them and scared the Eevee out of it's wits. It evolved into a Spectreon, a creature with an imposing 

personality. I couldn't look at it for more then a few minutes with out shuddering. That made researching it very difficult."

"A normal type was even discovered, Evareon, evolving for some unknown reason. It's so much like Eevee that I'm surprised it 

evolved at all. Now your ice type, obviously a reaction to the cold. That leaves me to another point. What do you propose to call it?" 

Professor Oak looked worn out. His gestures had been large and energetic and that was probably as much exercise as he'd had all 

day.

"I've no idea" Moon admitted with a shrug. I didn't know about her but my mind was spinning, crammed with all that new information.

Maybe if I were lucky it would push out all that useless geography and history that was taking up space in my skull. Ms Lera 

always said, "Those who didn't study history were doomed to repeat it." In her class she was usually right. 6th time lucky is all I 

can say.

"Wait!" the Professor interrupted before she could hang up. "May I study it for the time being. I'd like to examine her elemental 

configuration."

She nodded. "I'll swap her for Rapidash and teach Topaz how to ride her Articolt." Moon recalled the Ice Eevee and placed it 

carefully in the transporters beside the Vidphone. A flash of light and a Pokeball identical to the one that held Eevee replaced it. 

She turned back to the Vidphone. "Thanks Professor. I hope you find what ever your looking for."

She nodded goodbye and turned off the monitor. "Have you got Articolt? Good, we've got get your equipment."

"My equipment?" I bleated.

"Yes." Moon confirmed. You've got an Articolt and you obviously don't know how to ride it. If you want to pass the distance quicker, 

you'll need to be able to sit on him with out falling off every two meters, and if you want to ride, you'll need a whole heap of stuff."

She glanced at my uniform. "And something that doesn't have so much stitching that you can't see the original material."

"But!"  
"No time for it."

"But!"  
"No time for that either. Come on."  
  


I did end up getting a new uniform, exactly the same as my old one despite the girl's complaints. I trekked back to the PokeCenter 

and signed my Pokemon out to meet my friends in the field east of Azalea.

I fixed Chilun with his new blue, jewel-studded bridle. It gave hem a regal and princely appearance. I didn't bother with the saddle. It 

would have been to hard to materialize into the Pokeball and Chilun was having enough trouble dealing with the bridle. He still 

refused the translator, I think it was so I couldn't here him swear at me.

Moon started with the basics, getting on. Now keep in mind I'm pretty short for my age. When an Artico, I had enough trouble trying 

to clamber my way onto Chilun's back, now that he was an Articolt, and at least a span taller then a Rapidash, it was goddamned 

near impossible.

While this was going on, Suma, Cal, Philip, Fury and my other Pokemon were in hysterics. Fury cackled like a Solcian, a jester 

like ghost type, and rolled over the grass. Talorn chortled from the air above us, often remarking about how I should stick to flying. 

Apollo bayed and howled while Artemis tittered at his feet. She would call out unhelpful comments every unsuccessful try. Aqua 

smiled, her musical laughter drifting down from the trees.

Suma had tears streaming down her cheeks and was clutching her hides, obviously trying to keep them from splitting. Cal slapped 

Phil across the back, practically giving him a heart attack. But if he didn't die of a heart attack, he almost certainly did of a 

collapsed lung when I tried vainly to drop from a branch onto Chilun's back. It was at that moment he decided to sample the 

sumptuous grass a few meters away. I landed flat on my ass and dirtied my uniform.

"YOU'RE ALL GOING TO BE LAUGHING FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR FACE IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!"  
Moon and Rapidash, however, were not impressed. As I got up off the ground she had fixed him with a glare that could melt steel 

and had Chilun on his knees. With an unstable grip on his shoulder, I hoisted myself onto his back and straddled my legs on either 

side.  
Thank god I wasn't male.  
She then instructed me in holding the reins and how each movement was crucial in Chilun understanding exactly what I wanted. 

There were so many I'm sure she would have had us doing the Can Can, or Can't Can't depending on how you look at it, sooner or 

later. But it was easy for her to say. Rapidash moved effortlessly across the ground, almost as if she were floating, while Chilun 

stepped in every pothole. A few more bruises on my ass later, I had the gist of it and it was time to learn how to trot.

Damnit!

My elbows flapped like a Pidgey learning how to fly and my behind thumped against Chilun's bare, bony, back. He, at any rate, was 

having the time of his life. His English must have been getting worse too because when Moon said slow down, I complied, using the 

correct signal mind you, and he took off at terminal velocity.

But by the end of the day I was riding better. I had mastered most of the commands and Chilun had relearnt his English, the hard 

way when he ran through the trees and I was clotheslined by a low hanging branch.

He was a good little Articolt after that lesson.

I flew home on Talorns back with the others trailing behind. We zipped across the thermals and soared above the clouds, working 

out the stress of the day. Aqua glided around us, her river like crest and tail trailing behind her, glittering in the twilight. She sang a 

beautiful lullaby making me even more relaxed.

When we got back to the PokeCenter, I saw everyone else was unwinding. Moon had retrieved the Eevee, which she later named 

Glaceon, was talking to her with Phil in the lengthening shadow of a blue gum, it's sweet smelling blossoms wafting up into the air, 

smelling like incense. They would make some comments and Glaceon would twitch her ears or occasionally yap her new name in a 

husky voice.

Fury, Artemis, Apollo, Fireline, Typhoon and Maverick frolicked in the evening air.

Maverick spun wildly in a circle and tried to chase after them. He lunged at Fireline but she dodged nimbly aside. Typhoon cracked 

his whip like tail behind Maverick, taunting him with his deep echoing voice. Fury danced out of his reach, her collar flames licking 

the air in excitement. Maverick took a wobbly step forward, and tripped over his tail.

"Tototototo!" he squawked as he fell on top of Fury's fire. He leapt back immediately and Typhoon doused the flames.  
Talorn laughed her laugh, like a duchess jeering a jester and I laughed softly along with her.  
Cal was training his two new Pokemon, Vaporeon and Politoed. I'd given him the water stone from Union Cave, in exchange for the 

use of his Waterfall and Whirlpool HM's I'd taught to Aqua. His Eevee had ardently accepted the evolution stimulant and now barked 

a challenge in her bubbly voice to Politoed. Politoed croaked back. Cal evolved his Poliwhirl when he'd found a Kings Rock while I 

was learning to ride. We traded Poliwhirl holding the rock and it evolved into a frog with a yellow spiral across it's stomach. We 

traded back. Now he was almost definitely going to earn that badge.  
Sumalee was now training Shahman. Now that I had seen it for myself, I regretted passing up the chance for such a glorious bird 

Pokemon. A snowy white bird with silky soft feathers, ruffled by the slight breeze. Razor sharp tail feathers looking more like knives 

gleamed in the setting sun. It's head was crowned with a diamond tiara, which pulsed a bright inner light.  
I had used my Pokedex on it earlier and had replied mechanical voice.  
"Shahman, the mage Pokemon. Known for it's ability to manipulate the weather, it is highly sought after by gardeners. The heart of 

it's powers are said to reside in the crystals that adorn it's tiara."  
As I watched the fight unfolding between him and Nidorina. Nidorina fired a Horndrill at the hovering Shaman. It brush his wing tips 

and tumbled towards the earth. Sumalee rapped an order and Nidorina snapped down on the extended pinion. Shahman shrill shriek 

cut through the air and Nidorina released him.  
"Hang on!" Talorn barked and veered sharply. Aqua sheered aside as well. Where we had been moments before, lightning rent the 

air and enveloped Nidorina in a blaze of dazzling light. The Pokemon stopped their playing to watch the special effects Shahman 

was providing.  
When the spots cleared from my eyes, I peered downwards and Nidorina was way past well done. Suma withdrew her, praising her 

effort and called Shahman down from the sky. He whistled through the air to land on her shoulder, careful so not to cut her with his 

tail blades. He screeched in his severing voice an exultant cry.  
"Come on," I said to Talorn as I watched the sun sink further into the tree lined horizon.  
"We'd better land, it's getting la....."  
Before I could finish the sentence, a beautiful, deep resonating voice drifted from the Ilex forest. It's voice rose and fell like the 

ocean waves as it sang. Each syllable melted into the next. Each note penetrated the air so all could hear, but each note was 

pierced with anxiety. It was looking for something, someone, and time was growing short. As the last ray of sunlight faded, so did 

the song. It evaporated into the night air, as if it had never been.  
I balanced on Talorn's back totally entranced, it was impossible not to.  
"Follow it!" I cried in a high-pitched voice. There was no way I was going to let the Pokemon go, even if I only glimpsed it.  
"It's no use, my dear. It's gone. It is best we go inside or you'll catch a chill." I let Talorn set down, but I still watched the horizon, 

the source of the melody. As recalled Talorn and my other Pokemon and turned into the PokeCenter, I saw it so fleeting, I wasn't 

even sure it was there, but a shadow crossed the moon. So tiny it was, so fragile. It paused, and then disappeared beneath the 

treetops.  
  



	9. WOC 9

**_Hi guys welcome to the Prelude of one hell of a Special. Hope you enjoy this, not totally adventurous but cool nether the less. Any created Pokemon belong to me so tell me where you use them at Shirasharmi@hotmail.com Ta!_**

**Love at first Fight**  
The next morning I had figured out the Pokemon I'd use to battle Bugsy and paced apprehensively in front of the Gym. The Gym resembled a huge beehive. Ring upon ring stacked on top the other. The door was like a honeycomb cell and a sweet scent strayed  
from inside.  
I took Aqua's and Artemis's Pokeballs off their clips and rolled them in my palm like stress balls, clipped them back on, paced some more and removed them again. I muttered to myself about were the others were.  
"Stop it," Fury said irritated from where she lazed in the sun. "You're giving me motion sickness."  
What a joke, she didn't even have her eyes open.  
Nevertheless, I obliged and sat down besides her, leaning my back against the beehive. I sighed, frustrated. The others were meant to meet me here. This was my first actual Gym Battle and didn't know what to expect. I had waked up early and had Nurse Joy give a last minute checkup, before I went to the Gym.  
I was also starting to come up with theories that all Jenny's and Joy's were some type of androids, that's why they're all-identical and never need sleep. I lasted about another two seconds before I let out an exasperated sigh and jumped to my feet. I released Artemis and Aqua from their balls.  
"Are you sure your ready?" I asked in a pleading voice.  
"Give it up, Topaz." Fury said idly, still not opening her eyes.  
"No ones gonna beat me. I'll tear 'em all to shreds!" Eevee grinned wickedly.  
"After my own heart," I smiled wryly.  
"We'll be fine," Aquatro cooed reassuringly. "You've trained us well, now it's up to us."  
Before I could answer, a familiar face poked through the door of the Gym. Matthew with a Pikachu sitting crookedly on his Kanto League cap and a Quarral, a Dark type that looked like a Tasmanian Devil on a really bad day, at his feet. They all grinned from ear to ear.  
"Topaz!" he yipped cheerfully. "I see your feeling better and from what I've heard you've been up to more trouble." He flashed a smug grin and continued. "We've been doing great! Pichu just evolved and Quarral had a ripper of a battle. Way I see it, we'll be up at  
Indigo Plateau in no time, won't we Pikachu?"  
Pikachu lit up like a light bulb, Matty with it.  
When Matt was cooked, well done from the smell, he breathed a puff of smoke and rasped, "Still a few kinks to work out."  
"Yahuh," I said sceptically. "Well if a half wit like you can do it, so can I!"  
Matthew provided me with an amused look. "I don't know, Kylie quit her journey as soon as she left Union Cave. Anyhow, we gotta get through Ilex forest." He smiled slyly. "If you want, I can wait around so you don't have to go through the forest all alone. It is pretty scary in there." He snickered. "No? Fine we'd better gets going towards the PokeCenter."  
As soon as they were out of earshot, I exploded. "How dare he feel superior! To be protected by that stick! That uncredible speck! I've done more then he'll do in entire journey. More then any of those beginning could even hope to achieve!"  
I admit I was being a contemptuous little bitch and it was going to get me in more difficulty.  
"Is that so, Topaz?" Sky looked down at me from the doorway of the Gym, an evil gleam in his eye.  
15 minutes later I was hanging from a nearby tree by my shoelaces, my raven blue hair standing on end and a sooty complexion. My mind was still frazzled from Flaffy's Thundershock and swing back and forth wasn't making me feel any better.  
_"You know, Topaz,"_ Fury chided_. "It seems whenever you open your mouth, it's only to change whatever foot was previously there."_  
"WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME!" I raged. "Better yet, WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING ME NOW! GET ME DOWN!"  
_"Hmm, no. I think I let you cool off."_ Fury sat loftily beneath the Golden Raintree.  
Luckily I didn't have to wait long, Suma and Cal ambled up the path. They stood at the crest of the hill and stared at me swaying in the wind, my arms crossed and a scowl upon my face.  
"I think she actually took what you said about turning her frown upside down seriously," Cal spoke when he came within hearing.  
"Shut up and get me down or you'll sorely regret it."  
  
I finally had my Orange League hat sitting properly on my head and I entered the Azalea Town Gym. It was vast. A miniature forest grew inside. I watched as bug type Pokemon flitted between the trees and skittered beneath the leaf litter.  
Cal led the way through the maze of trees to the centre of the floor. He had a confident air about him as Vaporeon padded at his side. In the middle of the gym was a grassy area devoid of trees.  
"We challenge Bugsy of the Azalea Gym," Cal called in a loud clear voice. Pokemon grazing inside the faintly marked rectangle scurried to the side of the Gym, each looking anxiously at the challengers.  
A girlish giggle came from the trees. "If you want to battle our brother, you gotta fight us first." Two tiny 10 year olds stepped out of the trees at the opposite ends of the field. The identical red mop tops stood ready for us. I couldn't help but feel scorn for them, too young to be any real challenge because children were always impetuous and implosive. Oh well a good chance to test Bolt on the field.  
"You will....." the first started.  
"Battle both of us," the other finished.  
"One Pokemon...."  
"For two of you."  
This was of talking was tedious and time consuming. "Fine, I choose Bolt," I interrupted.  
I tossed his Pokeball he landed in the middle with a facial expression blanker then a clean sheet of paper. He perked up when Suma released her Pokemon.  
"I'll use Fireline." Suma released Fireline. Both Pokemon in the middle looking like the original Odd Couple. One anxious and alert, the other dead to the world.  
"Pokeballs go!" the twins tittered. The Pokeballs split apart and in a flash a Ledyba and Spinarak were poised for battle.  
"Tackle, Ledyba."  
"Poison Sting, Spinarak."  
Spinarak inched forward ready to inject Fireline full of venom while Ledyba was on a collision course straight for Bolt who was still in a stoned out of his mind. Fireline lashed out with her scratch, leaving Spinarak with a gash down the length of it's abdomen. It shrank back trying to regroup it's wits. Then, before Suma or I could do or say anything, Fireline covered the ground between it and Ledyba in a flash. She pounced and knocked Ledyba to the floor.  
"Comet Punch," Twin One cried. Ledyba let loose a flurry of jabs, each landing square in Fireline's midsection. Fireline screeched and her fur turned a fiery red, a tongue of flame engulfed it.  
"Behind you Fireline!" Sumalee alerted her to the Spinarak scuttling toward her from behind.  
"Leechlife," ordered the other twin. Spinarak clawed onto Fireline's back and dug it's mandibles deep into her shoulder. Fireline hissed and raked it away. Tossing it aside, she raced to save Bolt a second time from Ledyba's Fury Cutter attack.  
All this time I'd been yelling out commands, which he had placidly ignored. He watched Fireline with a dreamy expression, his eyes not leaving the wildcat once. I would see his eyes widen every time Fireline attacked.  
Spinarak tried again. As soon as Ledyba was out of the way, he fired a sticky net of thread. It fell over the feline, trapping her. She slashed and snapped but the Spider Web stayed firm. Now that she was contained, Ledyba came at her from one side with her Comet Punch while Spinarak attacked the other with his Fury Swipes. Fireline struggled hard but her energy was running low. She bowed her head in submission.  
But just when it looked like Fireline was done for, there was an enraged "Mreeeeep!" and Bolt leapt from where he'd been sitting idle moments before. He landed in front of the two bug Pokemon and let loose an almighty roar.  
Ledyba turned tail and fled to arms of her trainer where it sobbed and whimpered. The Spinarak stood frozen to the spot, paralysed with fear. It's mandibles clicked and snapped frantically.  
Bolt tore at the Spinarak just as it broke from it's petrified state. It had Bolt in it's sights and used it's Scary Face technique. Bolt flatly ignored it, he had eyes only for Fireline. He bounded into the air above Spinarak and released a jagged shaft of lightning striking venomous stinger on its head, which acted as a brilliant conductor. Within moments he was high fried. Bolt landed flat on his sturdy feet and turned his attention to Ledyba. If looks could kill, Ledyba'd be halfway to Hades.  
"There Ledyba, now you're all better," Twin laughed and poured a potion over her Pokemon. Ledyba, now revitalized was ready to face what ever Bolt threw at it. It took to the air.  
"Swift!" her trainer commanded in sugary sweet voice. Ledyba waved its six legs in intricate patterns and a cluster of tiny stars manifested in the air about it. It flung its legs wide and they flew at Bolt. They exploded into sparks it they came into contact with anything. Bolt bleated as they burst against his skin and face. He was losing HP fast.  
"Tackle," I yelled. Bolt raised his head and charged the Ledyba. He caught Ledyba in the midsection as it prepared another barrage of stars. Both fell to the floor clawing and biting and rolling about to get an advantage. Then, when Bolt was held down, he lifted his paw and smashed it against Ledyba's chin in a burst of electricity.  
Both fell back, trying to get some distance between them and their opponent. Bolt was breathing hard and tuffs of wool were missing but he was still grinning, probably thinking of the big fat kiss he'd get from Fireline. Ledyba picked itself off the floor. It was raging mad. Ledyba shot at Bolt, less then a blur, a glimmered of light within shadows. Bolt froze. He stood petrified as Ledyba was closing in. His eyes flickered to me.  
_"Now what?"_ he murmured.  
I narrowed my eyes. I had to focused, wait until the very last moment, till Ledyba was amillimetre away.  
"Wait for it, wait for it," I chanted softly to myself. "LIGHTSCREEN NOW!" I screamed, silently praying he actually knew the technique.  
I saw everything in slow motion. Ledyba loomed closer, closer, closer. There was one horrifying moment when I thought Bolt was through... Suddenly a golden shield shimmered into view. Too late to stop, Ledyba crashed into the flaxen pane of light with a sickening splat.  
"Yes!" I cried running forward to pick up Bolt and congratulate him, but the Mareep ignored me completely and trotted to where Fireline was still snared. Suma emptied the contents of a vile over her. Fireline fur glowed red again and the spider web melted away.  
Fireline padded towards Bolt. She licked his cheek and bounded into Suma's arms. Bolt sat back down, blushing a furious crimson and the orb on the end of his tail flashed like Christmas lights. Fireline only purred content in her master's arms.  
Sumalee exchanged knowing looks. I rolled my eyes. Now that I'd seen what the dimwitted Pokemon could achieve, I was determined to curb his attentions for my own use. But not now, he was still swooning from his, er, triumph.  
"We lost!!" the twins bawled. They each held their fainted Pokemon and wailed again.  
"Bugsy!!"  
"What now?" came an irritated voice from the trees. A hand pushed away the foliage revealing the owner, a boy about 16 or so with shaggy purple hair and deep purple eyes. He wore a green polo shirt and khaki ¾ pants and carried a insect net over his shoulder.  
"They fainted our Pokemon," sniffed the girl who trained Spinarak. Bugsy took a handkerchief from his pocket and put it took the girls nose.  
"Blow." The girl blew her nose into it and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress as her sister came closer to hear her brother's words of wisdom. "You have to expect that. You can't win every battle but no matter whether you win or lose, you and your Pokemon gain experience." He reached into his pocket and counted out some notes. He split it in half and offered it to Suma and I.  
"Oh no," Suma protested, note even asking me who was already reaching for it. "We couldn't take it."  
"Don't worry," he smiled warmly. "If I win I get it back anyway. Hey Cal coming back for another try?"  
"Yeah, and this time I'll win."  
"We'll see about that. Just let me go get my more experienced Pokemon, can't go easy on you, you know." Bugsy sized Sumalee and I up. "Your Sumalee and Topaz aren't you?"  
"How's you know?" I asked, curious.  
"There was a poster spread of the winners of the Trainers Challenge in this months Pokemon Pal. There was a pretty big article on you about the bush fire. They mentioned you too Cal."  
"Only mentioned," he grumbled.  
Bugsy disappeared back into the trees. There were some flashes of red light and he returned again carrying six Pokeballs in his net. "Usual rules Cal, two on two." He selected his and tossed one of them onto the field. A Scyther escaped his personalized  
orange Pokeballs.  
Cal held out a ordinary red and white one and from the beam, Lapras materialized.  
"_Laa_," she murmured glad to be free of her Pokeball.  
"_Scyyyytherrr_!" echoed the challenge. She raised her bladed arm and brought it down in a swift arc across Lapras's breast.  
"_Laaaa_" she moaned in pain and anger. She swung her head wildly trying to use her head butt, but couldn't get close enough to hit Scyther, who taunted her just out of reach.  
"Lapras, aim your Icebeam at the ground," Cal called. What kind of tactic was he using?  
Either way Lapras obeyed and soon the Gyms grassy floor was a glassy ice skating ring.  
"Now Body Slam." Lapras glided across the ice, head down hoping to stab Scyther.  
"Double Team, Scyther." Bugsy frowned in concentration. Scyther closed her eyes and hummed to herself and glowed an unearthly green. She screeched loudly ferociously and split into three.  
Meanwhile Lapras was coasting across the ice at top speed towards the centre Scyther. She crashed through it and the Scyther disappeared. Lapras wheeled around to face the two remaining Scyther. She stared at them bewildered. If she chose the wrong Scyther it was more then likely it would defeat her.  
"Confusion Ray!" Cal ordered throwing his arm in the direction of the attack, in the middle of the two statue like Scyther's. Throbbing waves of purplish light emitted from the tip of her horn and hit the ice between the Pokemon. The waves rippled across the ice and spread beneath the two Scyther's feet.  
Their eyes rolled around in their skulls. When they became focused they ignored Lapras and stared at each other with chilling malevolence. Suddenly each released a hair-raising shriek and launched themselves across the room at the other Scyther and slashed with a quick downward stroke. The one on the left vanished but the original still exchanged blows with her nonexistent foe.  
Lapras used this chance and used its Icebeam. The Scyther was frozen in mid strike. 

"Return Scyther," Bugsy said recalling her. "I seen you trained well since your last visit but you haven't won yet. Go Pinsir!" The stag beetle Pokemon zapped onto the ice, but his feet slipped from under him. He scrambled to get up, but they tripped beneath him again.  
"This is easy," Cal scoffed. "Return Lapras, go Vaporeon!"  
"_Pinsiiiirr_!" he wailed as he fell again. Vaporeon meanwhile padded gracefully across the ice, ridiculing him with her bubbly laughter. Pinsir finally wobbled to his feet and stood steady, or so it appeared. Before it had a Chansey, Vaporeon blasted it with a torrent of water and it sprawled onto it's back.  
"Time to finish it Vaporeon, Whirlpool!" Vaporeon nodded at her trainer and glowed an iridescent blue. The water she had used on Pinsir ran together, swelling larger and larger. The beads gathered into one huge pool of water in the centre of the ice. Vaporeon burned brighter and the pool swirled and churned and twisted. Suddenly a water funnel erupted from the puddle and snatched up the stumbling Pinsir. It sucked it in and tossed it within it's walls of water. When the cascade was done playing it spat Pinsir out like a toddler with a broken toy.  
"Well done Cal," Bugsy said recalling his fainted Pokemon. "You've defeated me and so I bestow upon you the honour of the Azalea Town Hive Badge." Bugsy snapped his fingers and a Venonat slipped from behind a tree with something clasped between it's  
stubby claws. Bugsy took the item and offered the Venonat a pellet of PokeChow. He crossed the frozen battle with ease that his Pinsir didn't and held it out in the centre of his open palm.  
Cal grinned in exultation and pinned it to the inside of his uniforms jacket where I caught a glint of the silvery Zephyr Badge. "Awesome battle Vaporeon. Bugsy didn't have a hope in hell," he said with a snide undertone. Modesty was not one of his virtues.  
Vaporeon lapped up the praise and swished her tail with pleasure.  
"Now," Bugsy said turning to us. "Who next?"  
"Her!" Sumalee and I responded with lightning speed, each pointing to the other.  
"Alright, I will." I sighed and took position in the trainers square. "Wait, let Fury melt the ice." Fury grumbled but thawed the field within seconds. Bugsy made it across the wet grass of the field to take his position. "All right Artemis," I whispered. "You first, attack with Extreme Speed."  
"_Right_," she grinned, baring her teeth and poised for the ensuing battle.  
"Go Shuckles!" Even as it touched the floor, Artemis rocketed from her half an through herself at the strange bug type with everything she had. The Shuckle's rocked, it's wormish appendages windmilling wildly trying to right itself, but gravity took it's toll and it rolled onto it's back. He writhed and slapped the air in a supreme effort to get up.  
"Skull Bash!" I ordered, a smile playing my lips lightly. My fingertips brushed my Badge case at the prospect of a new badge. Artemis crashed head long into Shuckles. The attack rolled it onto it's base again and I cursed my carelessness.  
"Constrict!" Bugsy yelled, waving his net about feverishly. Shuckles four appendages coiled around Artemis while she thrashed against him. But the more she struggled, the tighter her restraints became. Shuckles dragged her in close and pounded her with it's  
Headbutt. Artemis's strains became weaker as her Hit Points drained away.  
"Bite, Artemis." Artemis's eyes fluttered open at the sound of my voice and clamped her teeth into Shuckles fleshy tentacles. It's wheezy screech echoed through the Gym and retched it's arm away. Artemis fell to the floor and rolled away. She pushed herself up on wobbly feet and shook her head, trying to clear way fatigue.  
"Tri Attack!" I yelled and implored that she had enough energy to perform the critical hit. Artemis lifted her languor stricken head, her eyes blazing and a searing white aura encompassing her as her fur sparked with tiny static volts for her attack.  
"Wrap!" Bugsy called, a hint of unease in his voice as Shuckles tried to entwine her again. It's limbs brushed her bristling fur a massive electric flood coursed through its body. It jerked as spasms retched its entire body. Artemis broke contact with the  
Shuckle and puffed a gust of icy wind in his face. His usually yellow skin took on a faint blue cast and its movements became sluggish. Artemis bowed her head, totally exhausted, just as Shuckles. She lifted her tiny head and bayed plaintively. Drops of liquid  
fire rained down and pelted Shuckles hairless skin and soft shell. It whined once more, then fainted dead away.  
"Ahh! Now I see how Cal improved so much since his last battle. You talents must have rubbed off on him." Bugsy winked and recalled Shuckle. I leapt across the field and picked Artemis up from where she collapsed just after the battle.  
"You were awesome, Artemis!" I grinned as I held her in my arms.  
"Really?" she murmured weakly.  
"Really," I answered firmly. "Now you need to rest in your Pokeball. I promise I'll let you out later. Artemis agreed and slipped inside without a whisper more. I moved back to my square and stroked Aqua's head nervously. Artemis had only just beat Shuckles.  
"I don't know what your worried about," Fury yawned from beside me and looked up listlessly. She was no help at all. "OK Aqua. Same with Artemis, it's surprise that will give you an advantage over your opponent. Don't give them a Chansey!" she mumbled a  
response and flew into the air, hovering above her side. Bugsy regarded my choice with careful eyes. They darted between the Aquatro and his remaining three Pokeballs. He selected one and tossed it into the centre.  
"Parasect!" it spat and slashed the air viciously with it's claws, looking up at it's opponent.  
"Let the battle begin!" Aqua plummeted from the ceiling and stuck the Parasect's mushroom with all the strength she could muster. She struck, and bounced back! Aqua rolled across the floor. She sat up startled as I was.  
"Parasect, Slash!" Parasect scuttled across the grass where Aqua still looked dazed. She finally understood the Pokemon advancing upon her and with a mighty pump of her exquisite cobalt wings and lifted just as Parasect scathed her breast feathers. Parasect acted swiftly, impaling the long flowing tail feathers on his claw and drove it into the dirt. Aqua was yanked back to earth as her tail ran out.  
"Stun Spore!" With one claw still firmly in place, it began to quiver, shaking the tiny particles loose. Now trapped on the ground, Aqua panicked. She fluffed her feathers and tugged on her plumage. With a final jerk, she pulled free leaving the offending feather  
behind. She fluttered above, still evading the powder.  
"Razor wind, now!" I called. Aqua slashed her wings in alternating strokes, each releasing a wave of pressurized air. The bubbles scattered the pollen so it drifted harmlessly to the floor. Those that weren't aimed at the Stun Spore, pummelled Parasect  
ruthlessly.  
"All right, Parasect," Bugsy mumbled in a low voice, deadly serious. "Giga Drain."  
In response to the command Parasect sucked in a gulp of air. With that swallow a tiny prussian blue sphere was dragged from Aqua's throat. She looked not only startled but wearier. Parasect inhaled again and the ball swelled. Aqua's head drooped a little more.  
"Aqua! Dodge! maybe he can only get you when your still!" Aqua skirted around the edges of the field, always on the move. She weaved in and out of the trees and behind Parasect but he kept breathed in a third time a I growled in frustration. Suddenly I dimly recalled the chamber of the Zubats. The waters churning and seething.  
And her voice.  
"Perish Song!" I yelled as Parasect inhaled for a forth time. Aqua heeded my command and then softly, very softly, she began to sing. It was a strange song, with a twisting, turning ever changing melody with breathy catches and lilts but extraordinarily compelling and beautiful. Parasect already looked weaker and Aqua drew strength from that weakness. She pulsed with a sapphire haze. Her plumes swirled around her like those of a professional dancer in a breathtaking display. A new strain weaved in and out of the melody till it created a wondrous new pattern. Then in a heartbeat her song boomed into a thunderous canticle of virtue and respite. Her voice helixes up and up and through the ceiling where it hung in a breathtaking display of lung capacity then spiralled down and down. The final note penetrated Parasect and collapsed.  
Bugsy recalled Parasect with an expression caught between complete amazement and totally stupefied. He was at a loss for words and his jaw had dropped to the floor and very much resembled a stunned mullet. I admit, not even her performance in Union Cave could be compared with this. Seeing we weren't going to be doing anything anytime soon, Aqua drifted listlessly down and snatched it from Bugsy's hand where he starred at her dumbly. She dropped the Badge at my feet. I gazed down at it and flicked eyes back to her. I picked up the Hive Badge and examined it, a mirror image of the Gym.  
"Thanks," I managed at last, to both Aqua and Bugsy. I swore I'd change her name to something more a little more majestic.  
"How am I meant to compete with that?" Sumalee huffed. "All right, we'll fight fire with fire. Butterfree, I choose you!" I had never got a good look at Butterfree, it had been to dark in Union Cave, but now I saw it was clearly unlike the other Butterfree that lined the  
wall. Instead of the usual black on white gossamer wings, hers were white on black. I directed my Pokedex at the Pokemon.  
"A rare breed of Butterfree. The white on black wings indicate that it's Psychic traits are stronger then it's Bug traits."  
Bugsy heard this and chose his own Pokemon, a Beedrill. The Beedrill droned angrily as it jabbed the are with its needled arms.  
"Begin the battle!" Beedrill rushed across the field and thrust it's Twinneedle attack, each missing Butterfree by a whisker. Butterfree's were not as agile or nimble as most bug types and was quickly tiring. Unexpectedly, Beedrill feigned left parried with his right  
stinger. The sting grated across her belly. Butterfree screeched and emitted a powerful Confusion from her antennae that sent Beedrill crashing into the wall of the Gym.  
Beedrill buzzed more furious then ever and shot across the room, tail sting extended and aimed for Butterfree. Within a hairsbreadth of hitting her Butterfree screamed again and a Barrier of Psychic energy winked into view. Beedrill hit the Barrier with massive force and a sound like the shattering of glass rang through the air. Beedrill fell to the ground his stinger shattered. Now that his strongest  
weapon was useless he let out a pitiful moan and fled back towards his Pokeball. But before he could make it back to his trainer, Butterfree to a final passing shot, a Psywave.  
Telepathic waves rolled over him like the irrepressible tide. He fainted just before his trainer.  
"I guess Call got some of it from you too," said with a Bugsy cynical smile at Cal's objections. He wryly produced his last Pokeball. "Go Heracross!" Heracross snapped to attention as soon as he appeared.  
"Time for my secret weapon, I call Shahman!" Shahman blasted from his Pokeball in a wave of red. His high pitched scream echoed around the Gym. Bugsy gapped at the rare bird Pokemon. He glanced at Heracross and doubt paled his face. It suddenly hardened,  
surprising for on so soft. "Horn attack." Heracross lunged at the grounded bird, taking him by surprise. He scooped it up between the fork of his horn and before Shahman could react, heaved him into the far wall, exactly where Beedrill had landed earlier. I noticed a small crack had formed and Bugsy shook his head, frowning. Again Shahman screamed, in pure rage. A miniature thunder cloud blossomed above Heracross which he failed to see. When he finally did heed the crackling overhead he looked up in  
amazement.  
Big mistake!  
"_Hera_!" he screamed as the lightning surged down his horn and through his body, but a thunder clapped drown put the cry. Time crawled by as the bolt illuminated the air. Shahman swept into the middle of the lightning strike, his silver body glowed with  
electricity as it bonded with the lightning. A blazing ball of light blinded me and exploded. I was thrown to the ground by the blast. The electric white light roared around us, threatening to pull me into blackness.  
The scotching heat finally disappeared. I winced as I opened my eyes and scanned my surroundings. The Gyms lush green leaves had caught fire and were eating the foliage away at a rapid pace. Bugsy at the other end clutched his sobbing sisters while regaining his own muddled thoughts. Suma had bore the attack well and was still standing, grinning ecstatically as Maverick at her side. She sent him to douse the flames and recalled Shahman to her outstretched arm. He perched happily as he watched his fallen opponent return to his Pokeball. Heracross wasn't the only one who had fainted.  
Cal and Aqua were barely hanging on but Vaporeon and Fury had lapsed into consciousness, as had most the bug types that lined the walls.  
After 15 minutes everything had been straitened up and our Pokemon healed in Bugsy's own restorative hold. Man Fury was angry and her collar flames leaping threatening to ignite the Gyms again. Finally we stood outside, each feeling pride in our victory against  
the Azalea gym, no matter how much damage we caused. I regarded my new Badge with interest. Another step on the way to stardom, another step on the way to facing the Champion, Ash Ketchem. I was scaling the stairs, slowly but surely and soon I'd be at the top.  
Bit arrogant wouldn't you say?  
"I bestow upon you the honour of the Hive Badge," Bugsy said with Calm prestige. "May it bring you closer to your goals. You are each worthy of the path you have chosen. Stand strong against the challenges and hardships you will face and you will never lose your way. Even you Cal," he added mockingly.  
Cal scowled but then widened into a broad grin. "Bugsy, if I beat you, you better shape up or you'll be the laughing stock the Johto League."  
"Is that a challenge? I still have Sizzor, Yanma and Druean." Druean was evolved Fruean.  
"Thank you Bugsy. That was my hardest battle ever and I learnt tons," Sumalee beamed.  
I shrugged. "Yeah, well, they said it everything I wanted to say. Might see ya round."  
  
We had passed the main gate out of Azalea and hour ago and were now walking the well worn track. I had renamed Aqua, Aria, meaning lullaby. She had taken to it like a Golduck to water. We'd stocked up on Antidotes and Potions as well as stopping by  
Kurt's for some of his custom Pokeballs. Suma and I bought a variety of each will Cal spent his money entirely on Lureballs and as a reward, I really should stop taking these, for rescuing Pokey, his daughters Slowpoke, he gave us each a Charcoal amulet. I  
attached mine to Fury as they were said to make fire attacks more powerful. It was pretty, a single flickering flame inside an amber casing.  
After leaving Azalea, I had argued what was the use of Lureballs in a forest of Grass, Poison and Dark types until he flatly ignored me.  
Suddenly the forest loomed in front of us, dark and menacing in the twilight. The three of us disputed whether or not to enter after dark. Our decision was waylaid as a shadow slipped from the trees.  
"Not so fast," Tobias barked. Fury growled at my side as the moons grey cast illuminated his form. His long red hair swished in the night breeze and he still bore the angry red scars Fury had given him. I tensed and surveyed the area for Angel but there  
was no sign of Tobias's partner. That still didn't mean he wasn't there.  
"What do you want," Cal glared and readied his hands on his Pokeballs.  
"Only to challenge you. Angel and I missed you at Slowpokes Well. I offer you the same rules as there. 3 Pokemon to me, one each for you."  
Suma eyed him warily and kept glancing behind her in case of an ambush. "And if we refuse?"  
"I take them!" he snarled.  
"Fine, we accept your challenge." Suma and I stared at Cal wide eyed. "Go Typhoon!" Typhoon escaped his Pokeball, his blue Chinese dragon form ready for action.  
"Gastly go!" I gasped, as a Ghost type reformed itself outside the Pokeball. Ghost type had only one weakness, Dark type moves and from what I knew none of our Pokemon had learnt those techniques.  
"Water Gun!" Cal yelled. The raging torrent blasted Gastly in the middle of it's misty body. It spluttered and coughed and tried unsuccessfully to avoid the water.  
"Mean Look!" Tobias roared, frustration already entering his voice. Nevertheless, Gastly cleared the water and glared at Typhoon. He abruptly stood rooted to the spot. He thrashed where he was trying to free himself before Gastly attacked. Too late! Gastly  
cackled as a black mist engulfed Typhoon. The night shade sent spasms though him body. The convulsions ceased as he fainted. Cal moaned as he recalled his Pokemon. Water had been useless against the ghost so it was time to try fire. "Go Fury!" Fury over  
came her surprise quickly and bounded to face Gastly. The two faced each other.  
"This isn't a staring contest! Ember!" Fury broke eye contact and instead of the usual ember attack, the fire wrapped around Gastly like a blanket. After two suffocating minutes Fury released it from her fiery hold and it's semi solid form dissolved.  
"Pathetic Pokemon! Return!" Gastly moaned as it disappeared into it's Pokeball, a woeful sound. "Go Noctowl." I gasped again, a day full of surprises.  
"Fury, Flame Wheel." I yelled as I recognised the attack. The columns of flame reached out again, but Noctowl flitted aside easily.  
"Foresight!" Noctowl eyes blazed red and before you could blink a beam of light cut through the night air and Fury was caught in the centre.  
"Quick attack!" Fury launched into the air and tackled her former companion in midair. They slammed into the ground, Fury on top.  
"Hypnosis!" Sleep inducing waves exuded Noctowl eyes, sinking deep into Fury's skull. Noctowl shoved her off herself and crowed victory. Now it was up to Suma.  
"OK Maverick, Bubble!" The Totodile sucked in a mouth full of air and blew it out at Noctowl. The each collided with the mark with deadly accuracy. Tired from her last battle, Noctowl fainted.  
Now it was down to one on one, which Pokemon would Tobias choose? "Wartortle!"  
Wartortle zapped from the ball, a cruel smile across it's lips. I tried to imagine the dozing Squirtle in Professor Elms Lab, but failed. I wonder what would have happened if that Squirtle had a different trainer.  
The two Pokemon faced each other, Maverick growled under his breath, the triangular red fins lining his back seemed redder than usual, the yellow stripe on his chest glowed. His blue skin shone in the moonlight.  
Pointing, Tobias cried, "O.K. Wartortle! Tackle attack!"  
"_Wartoooortle_!" He tucked into his shell and flew at Maverick with phenomenal speed just like the day outside of Violet, but we'd all come a long way since then.  
"Dodge him!" Suma shouted. Maverick side-stepped, he missed him by inches, "Now, Watergun!" Turning, he aimed a torrent of water into the rampaging Wartortle's shell.  
"Wartortle!" he howled the high pressurised water slapping him in the face. "Now, tackle attack!" Maverick powered into his opponent, who was blinking water from his eyes. He screamed in pain as Maverick hit him.  
From the other side of the field, Tobias yelled to his Pokemon. "You idiotic Pokemon. Attack with Psybeam!" Tobias must have used a TM on Wartortle, there was no way the water Pokemon could have learnt it naturally.  
Sumalee knew she had to get him before he got up, "Maverick, Watergun! Hurry!" The Pokemon nodded, quickly gathering its energy for another torrent of water. But Wartortle struggled up and lifted his head defiantly, his eyes began to glow the Psybeam attack pushed at Maverick.  
Maverick let out the strongest flood of water I had ever seen, at the same moment Wartortle powered out his shaft of raw psychic energy, the two collided, struggling against each other. I turned back and looked at Maverick, and everything exploded. It was deafening, and bright, I had to close my eyes and cover my ears with my hands to stop them from hurting, but it didn't help much, I felt as if there was a gong banging inside my head. My closed eyes stung, it was like looking at the sun with your eyes open.  
After a few seconds the brightness was gone and the noise began to fade away. I opened my eyes, I felt dizzy and disorientated but it cleared after a while and all I could see was smoke and steam. I coughed choking on the smoke, my throat getting itchy.  
"Maverick?" Suma croaked. I couldn't hear him, I could hardly even see him. "Maverick!" she screamed frantically, breaking into a coughing fit afterwards. I heard Suma crying.  
"Please let him be all right. Oh please, please, PLEASE let him be all right."  
I could hear Tobias call out to his own Pokemon, but not in worry "Wartortle! Get up NOW!"  
There was a faint groan from the side of the area, I wasn't quite sure if it was Suma's little Totodile, or Wartortle. The smoke and steam began to clear, and I could see two forms lying on the ground, one to the side and the other in the centre. Maverick and Wartortle. The breeze blew the remaining smoke and steam away. The form on the side was Wartortle Maverick lay in the centre.  
I stared in shock, at his lifeless body, it lay unmoving, his eyes, closed, "Maverick,"  
Suma whispered, "No."  
Wartortle began to stir, but he didn't get up. Tobias's voice cut through the silence, "Wartortle!" It echoed around in the night air, then faded away. Silence.  
"Please get up, please get up, please, please, please," I prayed under my breath, in desperation. My heart began to beat furiously, as it always did when I was worried and nervous, I couldn't breathe properly, like there was something stuck in my lungs. I could feel droplets of sweat run down my face.  
Everything seemed frozen, my friends, the air, the Pokemon and especially Suma. Wartortle groaned, "Wart," and struggled to his feet, he stood there wobbly, I could see him trembling, see the sweat of his effort, and the tears of his pain, slowly run down his face. But there was something else too. Determination.  
Despite his trainer, he was the type of Pokemon that wouldn't give up, till every bone in his body had been broken, till every muscle had been torn, till he lay, dying, stripped everything but pride. I admired him for that, but I also knew that Pokemon like him were the hardest to beat, and Maverick and Suma would have to work hard to triumph. I also knew that if Maverick didn't get up in five seconds, they'd lose the match.  
Time ticked by, and Tobias smirked. "I wi..."  
A slight movement, the twitch of an arm. Suma shouted, "Wait! Look, he's getting up!" I looked at Maverick, slowly; he struggled to his feet, stumbled, then straightened himself.  
The red haired Tobias saw him, and growled, and nodded, turning to her. "Fine, continue the match!" he sneered.  
Tears of relief ran down Suma's face, "Maverick you're all right!" She looked like she wanted run to out there and hug him, he gave her a tired grin. It seemed that the little Totodile drew his strength and energy from the Sumalee's smiling face, because he had begun to look much better, stronger, more confident.  
"Woohoo! Scratch attack, Maverick!" she yelled.  
Opposite me Tobias grinned, "Wartortle! Quick attack!" All I saw was a flurry of blue running towards Maverick, weaving in and out of his punches and scratches. "Now," Tobias cried, 'Tackle attack!"  
"Watch out!" I warned, but I didn't need to, Maverick was ready for him, he turned, so his red finned back was facing her, he ran at him, like a speeding baseball, and with his tail, Maverick whacked him away, as if he were the baseball bat. Wartortle fell back. But immediately jumped to his feet.  
Tobias whooped, punching his fist into the air, "Your mine!"  
"Hurry!" Suma cried, 'Watergun!" Water spurted furiously from his mouth. "Quick, Wartortle, quick attack, again!" He dodged the water and rammed into Maverick's stomach, "_Tota_!"  
The flow of water immediately cut off. Recovering quickly he jumped to his feet, the little Totodile leapt onto Wartortle's head, and soared, like and arrow, into the deep blue sky. Just as he began to fall, he threw his head back and screamed at the heavens,  
"TOTADILE!"  
Everyone stood, silent, staring in awe, and we all watched, as the most extraordinary thing happened.  
Maverick began to glow, he became the colour of a deep ocean, then he began to change. He turned, from living flesh and blood, to pure, liquid, water, it sparkled, reflecting the moons rays. His body was still the same shape and size, but now he was made of water. He began to glow, a bright blue aura surrounded him, and I could see things in the air begin to rush towards him, sticking to his skin, becoming a part of him. As this happened, the air began to get dryer and the air seemed hotter than usual. I came up beside Suma, still watching the spectacle in the sky.  
"What's happening?" I whispered  
Cal spoke quietly, "I know what it is." We both turned curiously towards him. "It's called 'Rainsong'. It's an attack that only a few Water Types can perform, because it requires extreme concentration, as you can see, the Pokemon leaps into the air and transforms himself into the purest water, he absorbs all the moisture in the air around him and then, when he's finished, and has gathered it around him, he unleashes it upon the opponent Pokemon. Combined with his energy and water, it becomes a furious storm, rain pours, like a waterfall, onto the Pokemon, and the sky darkens and lightning shoots down, and the Pokemon faints. It's a Water types ultimate attack, it's like a miniature hurricane, or cyclone or something unleashed just onto the opponent Pokemon, when it happens, Wartortle will immediately faint, and will be in a critical condition,"  
I breathed slowly, absorbing this into my brain. Maverick continued to surprise me with his strength, now this. I looked up at him. He had finished absorbing moisture, and he looked down at Wartortle.  
"_TOTADILE_!"  
Clouds formed from the remaining moisture in the air, they darkened, a steel grey. Without any warning, Maverick unleashed all his energy and water at Wartortle. It struck him, stunning the Pokemon. Furious winds picked him up and tossed him around the place, he cried in pain every time he thumped against the ground.  
Desperately, Tobias cried, 'Quick, use psybeam!" But it was useless Wartortle didn't have the strength.  
Rain began to pour, like a huge waterfall, onto his head, soaking him, and pinning him to the ground. There was a roaring clap of thunder, and a sharp bolt of lightning zapped from the sky, sizzling him.  
Tobias cried out. "NO!"  
Wartortle let out an agonizing scream of pain. Then silence covered the air, like a white mist, engulfing us all in its quiet embrace. The sky cleared, and everything looked back to normal. Maverick fell to the ground. Landing safely on his feet. Made of flesh, blood and scales once again.  
Maverick grinned enthusiastically and chattered to Suma about his victory in his Totodile language. Suma cut to the chase. "Hand over the Pokemon!"  
"Nooo!" he shrieked. "If I can't have your Pokemon...!" He ripped something form his pocket and tossed it into the air, laughing maniacally.  
Maverick, thinking it a game of fetch, sprang after it, jaws wide. Suddenly, Fury snapped awake. She saw Maverick chasing the strange rock.  
"NO MAVE!" and rocketed into air. Time slowed to a crawl. The space between each heart beat seemed and eternity. As Maverick's jaws clamped on the object, Fury's paw touched it to bat it away. Both began to blaze and iridescent white light, brighter even then Maverick had just before. They hung in the air until I thought that if I encountered anymore bright light I'd be blind for life. I screwed my eyes shut and waited for the light to die. When I opened my eyes, the sight broke my heart. Maverick sat on the ground ginning his perpetual grin, but Fury lay on the ground sobbing.  
I rushed forward and took her in my arms. "What's wrong Fury?" I cried, my voice rich with anxiety. She only sobbed harder. I looked up to see Sumalee and Cal looking grimly at the stone and Suma's Pokedex.  
"What are you doing here?" A sharp voice cut through the darkness. I jerked my head to see Angel. He spotted me at the same time and only glared venomously. I ignored him and turned back to Fury. Angel did likewise. "Now what?" He didn't have to ask he saw the stone. "You idiot! What good are is her Pokemon now? Not only did you abandon your post but waste a valuable item! Forget it, we've more important things to deal with!"  
"It's done?" he gawked.  
"Yes, no thanks to you," Angel snapped. "Now move it." He glanced at us again and smiled his chilling smile, his cold eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Johto is ours!" He tossed a smoke bomb to the ground. It exploded and the two were gone. I didn't care.  
"What kind of stone was it," I asked though I didn't have to.  
"An Everstone," Suma murmured her eyes downcast but they kept straying back to Maverick who simpered moronically. He didn't care if he evolved or not.  
"Is there a cure?" I pleaded, my voice cracking.  
"A Metamorphus Stone but their so rare they're practically a myth."  
Cal and Suma Set up camp, a hard thing to do in the dark, while I rocked Fury before the  
campfire until she cried herself to sleep.  
  



	10. WOC10

Caught in Wonder Epilogue of Echotrance Trilogy 

**_Caught in Wonder _**

****

I pushed though the undergrowth leaves slapping my face and twigs barely missing my eyes. The floor was uneven and I constantly tripped as the vines all had minds of their own and coiled around my ankles, pulling my to the ground again and again.

"Fury! Come back, it won't do any good if I lose you too!" She heard me and slowed down, but only a little.

Since the Everstone incident Fury had be unsure of everything she did, unsure of what I would do. She spent the entire day subjecting herself to my every whim and not doing anything I didn't tell her to do, trying to be the perfect Pokemon. I tried my best to explain to her that I wouldn't trade her for any Typhlosion. She came back about how I'd traded Talon for Talorn and only tried harder.

Then as we had set up camp beside the path and were eating our meagre meal before the campfire, the familiar lullaby played through the air just as it had the day Chilun evolved. Fury saw her chance to regain her dignity and took off in the direction of the voice yelling behind her. _"Don't worry Topaz, I'll get 'em for you!"_

Of course I had to go after her and that meant Suma and Cal had to go after me and that meant that Marc, some annoying trainer that had decided to hook up with us, followed us. I had it easier then my to tall friends and flitted through the darkness only running into the occasional tree, but even I had a hard time keeping up with Fury. She leapt from branch to branch barely keeping up with the winged spectre sailing through the shadows.

Then up ahead I saw Fury hesitate for a moment. She stepped back wards and took a running jump. As she began her descent, she snatched a passing vine in her jaws, which swung her forward. The vine reached its peak and she let go, landing hard. She swivelled her head to see if I was still behind her and once that was confirmed, she spurred deeper into the forest.

"Fury!" I cried, but then skidded to an immediate halt. I glanced down and saw how close I'd come to plunging down the 6m ravines. I swallowed hard and shook my head to keep my minds eye from imagining what could have happened.

I spun around as Cal crashed through the scrub. I waved my arms wildly, trying to get him to stop. He saw me, but not in time. Cal slammed into me and I teetered over the edge of the ravine. Cal reached out, grabbed one of my hands, and steadied me. We both breathed a sigh of relief. But before we could step away from the edge, Sumalee burst from the underbrush and just like Cal she didn't understand what was happening until it was to late. She collided with Cal and Cal hit me. Before I knew it, my feet had slipped from solid ground and I hung in midair. I was dashed against the rock face with stunning force and everything went hazy. I groaned and my grip on Cal's hand loosened.

"Sumalee, help me pull her up!" I heard Cal groaned likewise. "Gawd Topaz, for a someone so tiny, you sure do way a lot!" I was putting horrible strain on his arm. 

I then heard Marc come puffing out of the forest too. They yanked me up and my hold slipped again. But being as big as he was, he had no problem pulling me up, even though, the sharp edges of the rocks had left long grazes down by bare skin.

I stood up, panting, until I remembered what we were chasing. I quickly got to my feet and searched the forests canopy. I grasped a thick green vine and put my weight on it. When I was sure it could hold my weight and was secure to the roof of the forest, I looked at Cal, Suma and Maverick and Marc. Maverick jumped from Suma's arms and took the bottom of the vine. Suma strode forward and placed her hands above mine.  Marc put his above Suma's, nudging as close to her as possible much to my disgust.

Cal stared at it suspiciously and finally placed his above Suma's. We stepped up to the edge and looked down.

"Think of it as exploring your horizons," Suma provided.

"Shut up Sumalee. No ones in the mood for your 'If life gives you lemons make lemonade" philosophy right now," I said irritated. I lifted my foot into the air and held on for dear life.

"AHHHHHIE AHHHHIE AHHHHH!" As the vine reached the pinnacle of its oscillation, it snapped and we fell to the other side in a helpless heap. 

I crawled from beneath the tangle of arms and legs and tried to figure which way Fury went. Her sleek body did little damage to the foliage so it would be almost impossible to track her. After a moments thought I released Artemis and Cal released Azumarril. Artemis quickly picked up the scent while Azumarril was homing in on Fury's footsteps. Due to their enthusiasm we were racing through the forest once more. As it became obvious we were getting closer, low thuds and shaking of the trees, we recalled out Pokemon and continued by sound. 

Suma was tiring quickly, not used to this long distance sprinting, not that I was having it easy myself, and Cal and Marc, found it hard squeezing between the trunks of the trees. I slowed my pace as the trees shook harder and dead branches fell form the canopy, showering me with leaves. 

I finally reached Fury. She had stopped suddenly, her eyes wide. Curious of what she saw, I swept back a veil of vines to find a clearing similar to the one we'd left behind

I gapped. Inside the clearing was a massive Alavar, a poison dragon of the forest with one hell of a temper roared and frantically stepped back. It was at least 6 meters long! That meant it was only just beginning to grow!

The Alavar's heavy green scales camouflaged it against the trees. A pair of ivory horns protruded his sharp, arrow like head. He slashed with his most deadly weapons, more ivory razors secreting the most toxic venom known of which took a powerful Antidote to cure. Along his back ran more sharp blades until they reached the tip of his powerful tail. 

He snapped his enormous wings twice the size of his body, the wind blowing me backwards even further.

"Holy hell!" Sumalee bounded up behind me with Maverick at her heels. She gasped loudly resting her hand against a tree stared. Cal crept up behind us, giving me a quick glance and shifted beside me, finally Marc. 

He inhaled sharply and "Bloody hell, look at that!"

A small golden dragon was cornered against the trees, frozen in panic as the Alavar lashed around again, but not at it. He struck at the air above its head as if swatting a fly. 

Dodging its fatal swipes was a beautiful bird. Peacock like in appearance, but vibrant colours screamed at me. Blues, reds, yellows, as wondrous as the sunset and me.

It dived low, the dragon's claws missing it by inches. Suddenly it cut short in the air, staring at us.

"Humans?" I was amazed that the creature knew English but still watched ardently.

"Behind you!" I yelled. The bird whirled to see Alavar's massive maw opened wide ready to swallow it. It sheered left and missed the curving incisors and fired a golden flame.

Solar Flare, my mind answered, not knowing where it came from. It just seemed right.

The Solar flare collided with Alavar's rippling armour, waving it away as if it were a hairdryer.

"Come on!" Suma whispered. "We have to help! There's no way that bird could do it on it's own!"

"So much for Miss Perky," I muttered under my breath. "OK, lets go. Marcalark, you get that baby dragon, me, Cal, and Suma will help that bird."

I swiped my Pokeballs off their belt and looked at Suma. She and Cal had their's ready.

"GO!" Cal screamed and we burst from the trees, shocking Alavar for a moment. He stared at us curiously, the perfect distraction.

"Go!" we all cried releasing our Pokemon. Fury didn't need to be told twice, she launched a Swift attack, aiming at Alavar's bare skin, his obvious weak spot. Apollo leapt forth, looking eagerly for an opponent, Aria blasted a torrent of water at its face, shaking him from his reverie. He roared, bristling its spikes and firing at Chilun, but he was already on the other side, attacking with his Tundra Eruption. The attack froze Alavar's left forefoot to the spot and it thrashed wildly.

His deadly tail lashed the air, coming within inches of Talorn. She seemed unfazed, blasting gust after gust into his eyes. Shrieking defiance, she dived at his bare face, slashing with her talons and digging them in.  Alavar roared and shook her off. She flew though the air slamming into a tree, dazed.

"Talorn!" I yelled, dodging a barrage of poison stings. They flew past me, on catching me in the, ahem, arse. Still running, I yanked it out with a grunt.  I leapt for my loyal Pidgeot to crouch at her side.

"How you doing Talorn?"

_"I've been better dear,"_ she chuckled gravely.

"Well you better rest anyway." I recalled her and looked up. Suma's new Gehib tore Alavar's breast, ducking away at the last moment. Cal's Psyduck closed its eyes, concentrating on disabling him while he tried to snap down on Shahman's left wing and yank his left foot out of its ice prison. He snarled cracking his tail and threw Typhoon aside, a poison barb in his chest.

Cal, running around like a manic trying to distract the thing, yelped and recalled him, putting the Pokemon in stasis until we could get to the PokeCentre. He yelled a command to his Pokemon and dived back into the fray of bodies. There was no way the Alavar could beat all of us.

I was wrong.

He threw his head back, spewing a toxic green slim. It rained down pittering and pattering against my skin, burning and making the skin blister. Again the feeling of dejavu tittered in the back of my confused brain.

Giving up on trying to remember what it was, I dashed back. "Aria, wash this stuff off! Dilute it!"

"Shahman, raindance!"

Raindrops pitter-pattered from the sky, first only a few drops but after a moment, it was coming down in sheets, blinding me.  The rain stormed around as, working as an advantage hiding the smaller Pokemon completely. It was then I saw Bolt. That goddamned sheep was just sitting there! Just sitting there! I roared at the sheep, "Get off your arse and help them!"

He stared at me puzzled.

I threw my hands up in exasperation and grabbed his fleece, ignoring the small static shock. "Fine if you won't I'll make you! Now Thundershock!"

"_Mareeeeeeeeeeeep_!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

That bloody sheep attacked all right. The Alavar limbs jerked as he was encased in a vivid blue lightning. An acrid smell scented the air, as the smell of something smouldering got worse. Regrettably, it was I. While he had attacked, I lacked the good sense to drop that stupid sheep and nick off. I danced and twitched as the lightning coursed through my body and when Bolt bleated and finished the attack, I managed to drop him and fall the ground panting. _Oooooh_! One day that Mareep was going to get it.

Dusting the ash of my shirt I wasn't paying attention.  My peripheral vision saw a blur of green sweep towards me at a hundred kilometres an hour. That damn tickle in the back of my head gave an insistent tug even though Alavar's long barb tail was going to skittle me nine ways from Sunday.

"Oooph!" A force slammed me into the ground, and then landed on top of me. I gasped trying to get from under the massive weight pinning me down. "Marc…Please….Need air!"

"Hey! I just saved your life. Next time I'll just let you die!" he rolled off and yelled. "Singe! Flamethrower!" 

The little Charmander grinned wickedly and a blast of fire scorched and melted the scales along his left side. Alavar bellowed snorting and pawing the ground like a Tauros. He swung his snakeish head at the Singe but he was already ducking and came from the other side with a Firespin. He roared in pain, flailing to catch the Charmander with its wicked fire attacks.

Of course! Fire! It was a poison type it so it was weak against fire! It seemed Sumalee had already thought of it and had her Fireline bounding along the dragons back melting its long ridges of spines. 

"Fury! Apollo! Do the same! Use your fire! Everyone else return!" I held my Pokeballs up and each disappeared within. "Agility! And Flamewheel" My Pokemon complied with a boost of enthusiasm. The Alavar was tiring and we could see we were going to win! 

"Hey Marc," I said nudging him. "Where's that little dragon?"

"In my Pokeball!" he smirked, flourishing a full Pokeball. 

"You idiot!" I yelled punching his side. "It's a baby and I doubt you could look after it!"

"I could too! And for your information, it was poisoned so it had to go to the PokeCenter anyway. Besides, who could pass up a chance to train one of these things!"

I smacked him again and ran closer to the Alavar. He wings beat sluggishly and he flapped his claws in a poor imitation of a slash attack. "One more attack and he's done for!" I yelled to Sumalee. She nodded, thinking what I was thinking.

"Attack for his belly!" she screamed and all the fire types plus that bird blasted a long tongue of flame sweeping along his bare stomach. The Alavar moaned and collapsed to the ground with a rumble. The ground shuddered in a massive thrust beneath our feet.

"Pokeball go!" An Ultraball flew through the air, crashed into the fainted Pokemon's heaving chest, and sucked it in with a flash of red light. The ball rocked and thrashed and rolled along the ground as the Alavar tried to escape his prison. The light flickered and still it teetered back and forth. Then, with a final PING, the light flicked off, indicating capture and returned to the hand of his new trainer.

"Your mine! Alavar!" Sumalee whooped, spinning the ball on her index finger before disappearing back to her box in the Pokemon PC. "I always wanted a dragon for my own! I love him and feed him…." Suma beamed and continued to praise her Pokemon for their efforts, lavishing her attention on Fireline.

Cal was also very pleased with himself as his practically worthless Psyduck had evolved. If you could trust one thing, it was Cal's ability to evolved his Pokemon and probably now had the most out of the lot of us. 

"Onya Apollo! Thanks Fury!" Apollo's tongue lolled in a dopey grin while Fury sat quietly in front of me with a bemused expression. "Oh no, come on Fury! Don't go on about that again. I love you more then anything so don't go saying your not good enough." Her ears pricked up a bit but nothing more. With a frustrated sigh, I recalled Apollo who was limping pretty badly and looked around.

"Whoa!" I gasped softly. That weird bird was still there leaning exhausted again a tree. Thinking of Suma's Alavar, Cal's Golduck and Marc's little golden dragon, I was the only one with out a new Pokemon and this was perfect. It was obviously powerful and fatigued from the battle. 

"OK Fury, you want to prove your good, let's go! Swift attack!" Fury launched herself across the clearing, spitting out a thousand tiny stars of energy. The bird, not aware of the attack was pummelled ruthlessly.

Squawking with ire, the bird took to the air again, but not to flee. It pumped its wings furiously, whipping the air about it into frenzy. The winds picked up speed and could now take hold of debree on the forest floor, tossing it at Fury. Fury stood firm against the raging storm, head held high in defiance. She glared at him with the same intensity.

Without warning the bird snapped its wings together with a deafening crack and the winds ceased to whine around our ears. A glimmer of respect twinkled in its eyes and they hardened once more. Before it react or defend himself, Fury hurled her own tornado of flame. It roared around the bird, hiding it beneath the shroud of the inferno. The tongues licked the air hungrily before returning to feast on the Pokemon within.

Suddenly a set of blazing wings cut through the storm and brushed away the sweltering flames that threatened to engulf it. The bird's vivid plumage was choked with soot and grim and the fringes of its delicate tail were severely charred. The bird gasped for clean air.

Fury held a triumphant grin but it wavered as the bird shook himself and turned to face her again.

The bird seethed. It breathed in short sharp breaths as it raged at the indignity of being caught of guard. Violent violet flames flared around him and erupted skyward with every flap of its illustrious wings. The orange disks on its breast and tail had expanded and flushed a bloody crimson. Its ruby red eyes blazed with their own angry light until the pupil was intangible. 

"I was angry at ya before Quilava, but now I'm really pissed off!"

The aura of flames thundered to life and radiated a torrid yellow. They leapt across the clearing and snatched at Fury but she easily twisted away. 

She evaded each burst of light, rolling under, leaping over or firing a flame shield to hold off the hail of sunlight for a moment to escape. Each attempt made the bird more enraged then before, and each narrow escape after another made Fury's ire more fierce then her fire. She dodged her way closer and closer to the bird until she was just beneath him. She vaulted into the air and took the bird by its delicate throat, wrestling him to the ground and ignoring the sting of the amethyst flame.

They now resorted to physical attacks. Fury slashed and snapped with her tiny maw while the bird tore with its razor sharp talons and jabbed its predatory beak in Fury's eyes. Each seeking to gain the upper hand or looking for a gap in the others defence to use the finishing blow.

"Ya mine!" The bird sneered as it had its knifelike talon resting beneath her collar and onto her bare neck. Fury shrank away and desisted struggling lest she be the one to cut her own throat. 

"Say goodbye to ya trainer." It pressed against Fury a thin red line appearing but before it could go any further Fury opened her mouth wide and released a cluster of stars. They burst, blinding the bird in an explosion of golden sparks.

The bird flew off Fury and high into the canopy, hissing and spitting. Now its plumage was almost overcome by the tempestuous red with only hint of the blue it once was. Its tail flourished behind him, fanning the air lightly.

"Ya wretch! Ya gonna pay!" it screamed. The bird's wings beat feverishly and its eyes had a maddened gleam. 

"_Put it on my tab_" Fury snarled back.

The bird shrieked and gave an almighty pump of its tail. A blaze of sunset light tore through the forest ripping trees of their branches and knocking them to the ground. The earth quaked and nothing seemed stable. I ignored it all, all I saw was Fury cowering as the tsunami of radiance threatened to overwhelm her. My parents had called that type of concentration, 'being in the eye of the storm', when you can focus on something so strongly that nothing else around you seems to exist.

"Fury!" I screamed. I broke from where I stood and leapt into the clearing hoping to save her. But hope is the denial of reality; there was no way I could save her from such a force. I skidded across the dirt and snatched Fury into my arms.

Fury opened her eyes, seeing my only for a second before realizing both our lives were in jeopardy and focused on the bird's attack. She sundered from my grasp and stood defiant. She roared and a huge mushroom flame escaped her mouth curling upward. The flame twisted its shape until it manifested into the awesome fiery form of Phaenix, the bird of the Rebirth Flame.

The two powers collided, struggling against each other. They weaved and snaked and entwined and writhed until the two seemed one. A huge ball of blue and red energy whirled in above the clearing. Streaks of blue and red lightning crackled through the air. 

Behind me a tree split in two as blue thunder ripped down the middle. I whirled around to see Cal push Suma aside and the half crash where they had been a second ago and Marc was hiding behind a tree, the coward.

A peal of thunder echoed through the forest and shock waves pulsed through the ground. 

I screamed again and again as the lightning struck closer and closer. 

Suddenly the Phaenix emerged from the ball of energy, as if guiding it, and flew at the bird with a resonating shriek tearing my eardrums.  It flared its wings and wrapped around the bird with massive plumes of smoke curling around us. The energy ball careened after them and engulfed the bird, the Phaenix and everything else in an explosion. I was propelled backwards, blind and deaf, my skinning burning from the heat of the blast. I choked and coughed, slamming into a tree. My head pounded and I squinted at the pulsating light playing before me. It looked like the birth of a galaxy. Colours twisting and turning and spiralling in and out and under. I breathed in awe.

Standing strong against the gusts of energy was Fury. She stood frozen, snarling viciously. An aura of flames flared skyward as the Phaenix razed her opponent. It was then I realized that Fury controlled Phaenix by some unknown force. Every time Fury growled the flaming spectre shrieked, echoing her own.

"That's enough!" I screamed from where I lay, slightly dazed. Any more and that bird would be burnt into KFC. Fury yelled and the Phaenix dispersed into the winds and let the bird fall to the ground with a small thud. It was shattered. Charred feathers, sooty and choked with dirt. It's wing was twisted at an odd angle and its beautiful tail was nothing but a stump, a shadow of its former glory. I gasped in horror of what we, Fury, had done. 

"_Throw a Pokeball! Come on Topaz!" _Fury screamed with exuberance, her eyes alight. Stumbling to my feet and waiting for the stars to clear from my eyes, I yanked a Fastball from its clip and hurled it across the clearing in a blur of speed. Practise as a child payed of and it struck the bird on its delicate breast. It was evaporated into the ball in a twinkle of light and then it fell to the ground shuddering as, like Alavar fought to escape. Despite being nearly dead, it insisted on being free. The ball bounced up and down and suddenly split apart, the bird lifting into the air with sloppy beats of its wings. 

It glared at us fiercely, and loosed a Solarflare. Fury dodged it easily, jeering the bird on. The night air was lit up again as she belched a tongue of flame that lashed the bird. It fell to the ground squawking fearfully. Not letting that soften my resolve. I tossed another ball and it disappeared inside again, still pitching in its place, refusing to go down.

"Come on!" I pleaded watching the light flicker. _Flash_!  The bird was out again, not even flying, just dragging itself across the ground, still eager to battle. 

"Swift!" The stars battered the Pokemon, exploded in its eyes and feathers. "Third time lucky!" I yelled, aware of how much I sounded like Sumalee. The Ultraball knocked it backwards before swallowing it up as before and clamping closed. As it rocked I held my breath. _One_, I murmured to myself watching the light sputter. _Two_, I thought, running out of air. _Three_.  Here it was, if I couldn't catch it now I never would. Time stretched an eternity and finally, **_PING_**!  The light switched!

"YES! WHAHOO! WE DID IT!" I grabbed Fury round the middle and threw her into the air, whooping like a madman.

_"Put me down!"_ Fury wailed and scrambled from my arms, but you could see how happy she was. I grinned and laughed. I felt as if a great burden had been lifted from my shoulders, now that she was Ok.

"OK, Ok, you have your Pokemon, now lets go!" Marc whined. "I'm hungry, Charmeleon's hungry, I bet the rest of my Pokemon are hungry and I want to sleep!"

"Baby," I muttered, suppressing a smile. 

"Anyone know which way we came in?" Cal said slowly looking at the destruction around us. We had made quite a mess.

"Yeh, it was over there," Sumalee said pointedly.

"_Toto_!"

"No it wasn't, we came in by that tree."

"I thought we came from that direction."

"Uhuh, there."

"Oh man, we're screwed!"

***     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     ***

Echotrance, her consort, Celebi and Sunsear watched on as the humans argued. It was comical how each thought they were right. Echotrance sighed sadly. Two of her children were going away and as in the last reality, Celebi had shown her that her adopted children were ordained for great things. 

Like all of the legendary Pokemon, their memories had been left in tact by Celebi's great powers and she knew that in what ever case, she preferred this reality to the last. All that pointless destruction done by those Rockets! She had a hard time convincing Sunsear not to tear through the forest and rescue his baby brother but to let fate take its course. Unlike her and Celebi, her consort knew nothing of what had happened and how much the girl had done. She would rise to meet her destiny and take it in both hands. A brave child she was.

The Rockets were gone; in fact they had never been here. Celebi had switched the timelines so that Giovanni, their horrid leader had changed his mind at the last minute, and didn't know why. She chuckled to herself causing her husband to look at her queerly.

"Will we help them my dear?" he asked, flushing his long tail so that it sat perfectly in place. He was vain, her husband.

"Yes, I will take care of it. You go take care of our own brood, I'm sure they're squawking for their daddy by now." With that she dropped from the trees to land in front of the humans as graceful as a feather in the wind. The ceased their yammering and stared at her, the girl gawking and the colour flooding from her face. Echotrance smiled as she mouthed wordlessly. None of them said a word, just stared at her in wonder.

"Are you going to help us?" The Water Master stammered. 

She nodded, and spread her. "Climb on."

Their mouths fell open but hurried to follow her commands. When the four human, the Quilava and that tedious little Totodile from the last reality were cradled safely between her wings, she lifted into the air and up to the canopy. She murmured a command and the branches parted wide enough for her pass through.

Echotrance soared above the treetops, the night air rustling her feathers gently. The moons luminous glow shone brightly tonight and she felt friskier then she had in a millennium. She could feel the humans gaping on her back, the Totodile chewing on her feathers much to her disgust, the girl only watching the back of her neck and her antennae like crest. 

_She's sharp and I best watch out for her, _Echotrance laughed quietly. Soon she saw their campfire and carefully began her descent. Again she whistled and the forest swept back to make room for their queen to land. The humans crawled off her wings and stepped back, drinking in the image of a legendary bird, one of the Council no less. The girl stepped forward reaching her hand towards her.

"Topaz," Echotrance whispered so that only she could hear.

Topaz cocked her head confused, a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. "I know you." 

More of a statement then a question. Echotrance nodded. Stretching her beak, she reached to her back and plucked a long green feather out, tipped with black notched it in her hair. Leaning closer she murmured into Topaz's ear, "My name is Gaia, Topaz, remember it, it is a name of power, and power is best kept hidden."

With that, she flared her wings and rocketed into the sky leaving the girl's eyes wide and full of awe. Laughing out loud this time, a musical sound, she disappeared in a glimmer of green and black.**__**


	11. WOC11

_I'm back after gawd knows how long!!! Yeah school, specially maths, but I past it! Thanks to **The JoltMaster **for that boost! Haha! Thanks to Aaliya for the kick in the pants she gave me to get started again. I'm begging you to check out her fic, _Legend, _and email her!! Marlix, Emerald and Eevee have their places in there too. All very well written!_

_Also thanks to Ashia, she submitted her created Pokemon _Jolta_ and _Joltsan_ and as I promised, both she and they are in here!! Check out her fic in the library too. _

****

****

**_Rock a bye Baby_**

"I'm hungry."

"Shut up."

"And thirsty."

_"_Shut_up."_

"Did I mention tired?"

"One more word, Marc and you'll be whining out of the other side of your face!" Sumalee warded in a low voice. It was the most agitated I'd ever seen the usually bubbly, happy-go-lucky girl. I glanced over my shoulder at the Pokemon Trainer that had joined us in the Ilex forest a few days before. 

He was tall, very tall, so tall he towered over me more then most people even though he was only a year older then my fourteen. Spiky brown hair and shrewd hazel eyes that always seemed to be planning something in advance. Already a cagey person by heart, he kept my toes on edge. But luckily he kept his eyes on Sumalee, which she was none to happy about I could tell you. He was in the latest brand name clothes, a tight leather jacket, black T-shirt and jeans. His peppy little Pichu perched on his shoulder, giggling happily and when something took his fancy, he jolted Marc with a burst of electricity. I was quickly concluding that this was why his hair was always on end.

Now Marc leaned on Cal who seemed relieved by the male company and they weaved behind arms, arms slung over each other's shoulders, and singing like couple of drunks. Somehow the whole scene seemed vaguely familiar. 

_No one can deny, hic, it, we can start a riot in Sunday school! We'll have you believing, truth can, hic, be deceiving! Do unto uvers is our golden rule! Team Rocken Rockets!….._

But then again there was always the family Christmas parties and my uncles….

"Don't you love it when they play hard to get?" I heard Marc snicker. I rolled my eyes and quickened my pace to catch up the Suma. Her muscles were so tense they looked ready to pop.

"Pathetic isn't it?" I said rolling my eyes. I shook my leg trying to get Maverick to let go of my shoe. The Totodile was flung a little into the air and landed with a _To!_ of surprise. The little guy seemed the most carefree of the lot of us. I briefly wondered where Fury had gotten to but then saw her leading the way with her head held high. Defeating that bird had given her a new, brighter, outlook.

"We ditch him as soon as possible," she muttered, grinding her teeth. As if on cue, Cal woof whistled a passing female trainer. She sniffed and ignored the both of them. The two broke out into raucous laughter, slapping each other across the backs. With a crack of thunder both lay on the ground twitching and Pichu sitting on top giggling.

_How did we get hooked up with these dropkicks again_, I thought with exasperation.

"Even better, both. Look, we haven't got any supplies left and its almost dark. I don't think I, uh, we can go without another meal. The Pokemon are fine, I've got a few cans of Chow left. Fury's good at catching Rattata if worse comes to worse but I'm not eating one of those vermin unless I'm on my last legs. How much time till we reach Goldenrod?"

Suma flipped her Pokegear and jabbed at the buttons visciously. Remembering her Brown Belt, I mentally made a note not to piss her off. After a few minutes she said with a dejected sigh. "Four days, three at the least if we walk fast. Why can't your Pidgeot carry us."

I'd though of that solution when I had first met her but had met obstacles. " She doesn't know the Fly HM, with out it she can't navigate and even I did teach it to her, we would have had to have visited Goldenrod city beforehand."

"What about Chilun? You could ride him there, grab as much as you could carry there then run back?"

"Heh heh," I laughed embarrassed scratching my head and looking at the dirt. "Can't do that either. I sorta, maybe, kinda, possibly pissed him off. I made a stupid joke horse joke."

"Again? Let me guess, _never look a gift horse in the mouth? _Or was it the whole Mr Ed thing all over again. You really have to stop that, he's going to bite you."

"Too late. Anyhow, maybe we can bum some food off some other trainers," I suggested. The boys broke into some loud rock song or other earning a dirty look from a group of girls breaking camp early. "Or not."

"That's it!" I jumped, startled at Suma's out burst. She spun on her heel, face as red as a tomato.

THWACK!

"OOOOOWWW!"

THWOOOSHH!

"UMPH!"

"Get back here you cowards!"

"What did we say?! What did we say?!"

I groaned, three human companions and not a person to have a decent conversation with for miles around. How ironic was that? I mean, when I had decided to travel with someone I did not expect them to be a Little Miss Sunshine, a water trainer who couldn't swim and some arrogant giant who thought he was the worlds greatest comedian and gods gift to women. "I have to get some good judgement, " I ventured to myself.

"_Hey_!" I looked up to where Fury stood on the crest of a hill. "_There a house with a light inside._"

"Onya Fury!" I yelled back. "Maybe if I hurry I can lose them and score a soft bed."

"So, please?" Suma asked, pleading our case before a waspish old couple on their front door. A very nice front door might I add. I nice house all together. Hmmmm, sheets…..

'Of course," the old woman smiled kindly. "But on two conditions. One, you help around the daycare tomorrow-"

"Daycare?" I raised my eyebrows warily

 "-and two," she peeked around the side of the house. Cal and Marc hooted loudly over some poor joke Marc had made. "They sleep on the veranda."

"Deal!" Suma and I chorused.

Half an hour later, I was showered and refreshed and sitting before a sumptuous feast of roast chick, baked potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, it seem to for on forever. Everytime we finished a plate, Martha brought another from the kitchen, whistling merrily. Of course, we weren't cowed in the slightest, after 3 days without a respectable meal, we were shovelling it down with ravenous animalistic noises. 

"So," Cal said through some half chewed chicken. "Wha do you do awound here?"

"We breed Pokemon," Ashia, the old couples granddaughter beamed, clearing away an empty plate. The 13 year old girl with bright blue eyes and a brilliant blue bob cut hair. "Trainers give us two of their Pokemon and sometimes they lay an egg. We then hatch that egg and raise the baby. Trainers sometimes drop in, like you, and buy one to raise as their own."

"_Where are they?" _Fury demanded suspiciously from her place in the corner. She was cranky because Louis, the old man, said that a dinner table was no place for a Pokemon so she had to eat in the corner. I didn't blame her. She sat between Maverick and Pichu with some mashed potato in her ear caused by the curious little rodent.

"Well the eggs are in an incubator in a shed down yonder and all the little ones are tucked away fast asleep in there own little barn," Louis drawled.

"I have an egg, can you tell me what it is?"

"Well you go bring it on out and we'll take a look see," Martha cooed, setting down some Shepard pie. Reluctantly I got up, knowing that when I got back there would be none of that pie left. I wandered up the hall to the room Sumalee and I would be sleeping in. I unzipped the bottom pocket and fished out the blue and pink speckled egg. Miraculously it was still in one piece since I had received it and was clean and warm. I mean, I certainly wasn't on an average journey and it had made it through forest fires and Team Rocket without a crack!

With lethargic sigh, I hurried back to the table and much of my disappointment, the pie was gone and Cal, Suma and Marc all sat with please smiles on their faces. Greedy little pigs!

"Well…" I pursued holding it out to Louis.

"Well, its perfectly rounds, so it can't be a rock types."

"And?"

"But it has a rough texture so it can't be a water or a poison type."

"And?"

"And it certainly can't be any bird types because it's too big, unless it's a legendary egg but it can't be one of them."

"Why not?" I whined disappointed.

"Because! It would have to be much bigger then this!"

"So what is it?" I asked, annoyed. This was getting ridiculous.

"I don't rightly know!"                                                        

Suppressing the urge to slap my forehead, I rolled my eyes behind the wrinkled little coots back. No point in arguing. 

"Here!" Ashia offered. "I'll take it to the incubator outside!" Without waiting for an answer, she took the egg from her grandfather and whisked out the door. I sat down and enjoyed the rest of my meal. As soon as I sat down, Martha swooped down and dropped a succulent piece of chicken onto my plate and a good dollop of gravy. I didn't even eat this well at home!

Feeling slightly melancholy, I put down the drumstick and watched the others. Those stupid cellphones were always blinking on and off, needing to be inside a certain range. So the only certain way we could talk was through the PokeCentre. There was almost no point to them at all. I hadn't spoken to my family in weeks and I was sure that Scott had taken everything of value from my room and pawned it. 

I was also dying to talk to Faulkner. We kept in touch, exclaiming over the best way to train a bird, Talon's training was racing through with leaps and bounds, and he'd left a gift at the Azalea PokeCentre, the MudSlap TM I had yet to use. He talked enthusiastically as we pondered of the mysteries of the Wings of Council and traded information we picked up. I knew he wouldn't believe me when I told him of my Echotrance encounter.

When the meal was over, Ashia and her Grandparents cleaned up the dishes much to our, well, Sumalee's and my pleas. We were guests, they only said. 

Sumalee and Ashia talked vigorously through the entire meal about this, that, and whatnot and had already become firm friends.

"Okay dearies!" Martha quipped with a firm hand on both the boys' shoulders. Both shifted uneasily as if remembering being scolded when they were younger. "Time for bed and you'll be waking up early so we can get most the chores done before the little ones wake up. They're quite a handful at breakfast time and then you have to entertain them. You will be worn through before the sun reaches the zenith!"

I inwardly groaned. I despised anyone under the age of twelve so how was I going to cope with 50 little Pokemon dancing round my feet? I mean Pichu had already demonstrated that he couldn't control his attacks. I was going to be high fried before breakfast. With a defeated sigh, I called Fury to my side and Ashia showed us down the hall to our rooms.

"I hope this is ok," she said almost apologetically, opening the door. On the other side were two neatly made beds and soft pillows calling my name. With a goofy smile, I thanked her and took one of the beds, Suma the other. With relish, I bounced on it a little. _Ooh_ an actual mattress and actual crisp clean sheets. I was dreaming before I actually fell asleep!

Sleeping beneath the covers and Fury tucked beneath my arm, I gave a contented sight.

"Night Suma," I yawned. This was going to be the best nights sleep since beginning this gawddamned Journey!

"Awwwllllright! Chickadees! Time to rise and shine!"

"Huh huh! What! Ahhh!" I fell to the ground in a knot of sheets utterly bewildered, trying to figure out where I was. To make matters worse, I landed on Fury and her collar flames ignited with a violent orange flare and set my hair alight. I screeched and danced around the room, patting them out while Maverick doused me with a good torrent of water.  I sighed with relief and glared at Fury and she inturn picked herself up and glared back. I brushed a dripping strand of hair out of my face and looked up at Martha. She still had her usual serene expression, not at all bothered by the racket.

"Come on sweetpeas! Early bird gets the worm!"

"But second mouse gets the cheese, jeeze Suma, she sounds like you!" I muttered under my breath fishing through my bag to get my brush and yanking it through my knotty hair. The grey of dawn pressed through the window, refusing any warmth whatsoever as I hopped from foot to foot on the cold floor. I was in no mood for tolerance as I changed from my sopping clothes into my Trainer Uniform. 

With a last flick of the brush setting my fringe in place, I tossed it into my bag and followed Sum down the hall. Fury grumbled as much as I did as we sat down at the breakfast table. I glanced around at its occupants. Cal's shaggy hair was in total disarray, worse then usual, as he stared blankly at his plate and cutlery in front of him. Marc sat in a similar state of mind but watched the door to the parlour hungrily watching the swinging doors like a Pidgeot eyeing a Furret burrow. Suma was as sunny as usual, chirping about how fresh the air was and how alive she felt. At that moment, I would have happily killed her.

I meanwhile slumped or my elbows, rubbing my temples. I glanced at my reflection in my plate. Eyes bleary, dry lips and a taste like dirt in my mouth. Despite its arduous brushing, my hair still looked like a mop did up with a rubber band. With a groan of distaste, I pushed the plate away and settled on today's tasks Martha was yet to assign. I hated kids, what was I doing here again?

Suddenly the doors swung open and Martha and Ashia waltzed through smiling sweetly a tower of pancakes in each hand dripping of syrup and slathered in butter. Its thick sugary scent wafted on an early morning breeze to tease my nostrils so much that I actually drooled.

_Bingo!_

No sooner had Ashia set down the plate, I was woofing it down with guttural gulps and making sure my appreciation of the meal was known. I worked myself into a steady rhythm, cut chew swallow, cut chew swallow and then dash it down with some MooMoo Milk. This easily surpassed the best meal I had ever consumed. 

Through my loud eating, I vaguely saw the old couple and Ashia sit down to join us. Louis watched us, trying to conceal his amazement, Martha smiled broadly and Ashia staring with open curiosity as she tried to keep track of the blur of movement that was Cal's fork from his plate to his mouth.

Finishing in record time I'm sure, I mopped up the syrup and sighed contented, patting my stomach. Then, one after another, Suma, Cal and Marc did the same.

Five minutes later, the sun was still trying to drag itself over the horizon but I was at least feeling even a little better facing the day. Fury sat at my side, shamelessly licking her paws for the left over savoury mince Martha had served her and Mave. From the state of her fur, Mave had enjoyed it thoroughly.

Speaking of Martha, she stood before us distributing duties. The big-busted woman reminded me of Hagor the Horrible's wife from the Sunday comics.

"OK chickadee's!" she warbled. "We have got a big day ahead of us! This place has to be spick and span. Tomorrow we have official trainers coming to visit us and they might choose a little Pokemon to talk home with them." 

Sumalee looked ready to mention that we were Official Trainers but stomped on her food and gave her a pointed glance, letting her know I had no wish to be fussed over like a porcelain doll, as this woman would obviously do. 

"Now you boys are going to help Louis patch up the fence. You look like you have good strong backs. You wander down to the back shed and get the hammer, planks and nails. After that you're going to paint it."

The boys groaned and trundled up the path.

"Now Sumalee, you're going to help Ashia with doing up the barns refreshing the hay and such. Also wash and primp the baby Pokemon. Ashia knows where the ribbons are. If you have anytime after that, you two will keep the tykes entertained _without _getting them dirty. Now my itty bitty Topaz," the woman crooned, blatantly ignoring my frown at the reference and pinched my cheek. Behind me, Marc and Cal had returned with their tools and were snickering behind their hands. They probably had a good idea of how much pain they were going to be in later so were keeping it to a minimum.

"You will be helping me in the garden. We have pruning and weeding and watering to do. And I'm sure you're small enough to get under the hedge. I can't tell you how many toys the Pokemon have lost under there and I can't get them for all those thorns!" 

Suppressing a groan, I nodded, rubbing my mouth. I felt like a Pikachu with bright red cheeks. "But first you'll help me prepare their meals!"

I couldn't even answer when Sumalee subtly pushed me aside and held her palm towards Martha. "You don't want to do that, Martha, not if you want you baby Pokemon to survive until tomorrow. Topaz can't cook. At all. She burnt our last packet of two minute noodles and butchered the sausages."

My mouth sagged open, I thought the liked my cooking! Behind me the boys nodded vigorously.

"Yeah!" Marc joked. "Her active ingredients were a little, uh, too active! I'm sure I saw mine move!"

"You ate it before!" I said, shooting each a venomous glare and clenching my fist.

"Because we were rationing everything and I was hungry!" Marc folded his arms and took a challenging step forward. 

"Your always hungry! You ate more then me and Fury put together!" I shot back, taking my own step forward.

"Explains why your such a skinny little midget!" he sniggered, poking my forehead. We now stood an inch apart, me glaring up at him, him smirking down at me. We stood frozen for a tense period and as embarrassing as it is to admit, my neck was getting sore from looking up,

"Well you got a booger up your nose!" I spun on my heel leaving Marc with an expression caught between amused and confused.

_Ha!_ I thought with furious glee. _Try to think of a comeback for that! _"Now where are those Pokemon pellets!"

Martha eyed me nervously. "Uh, I think Sumalee will help me with the food preparation, you can help Ashia with the Pokemon, hmmm?"

Shrugging, I muttered "fine" and followed the young girl to the barns with Marc snickering at my back. 

Once inside, we retrieved the implements and set to work with pitchfork in tow. Replacing the dirty, foul smelling stuff with clean, fresh but nether the less itchy hay. Let me tell you, its hard work, not the hard, lifting part, but the part where you have to make sure there isn't baby Pokemon beneath your fork just before you jab it in. I swear there was Magby with either a death wish or an attitude problem. He'd just sit down on the hay right when I was about to spear it, smirking at me. It looked outright evil on what should have been an adorable face. Ashia scolded me for yelling at him. The little brat burst out crying but as soon as she turned around, his molten tears dried up. He spat a handful of glowing embers at my bare legs and ran with a "_Bebebe,"_ of laughter to join his Smoochum and Tyrogue companions.

"Go on! Get!" I yelled after them, waving the pitchfork. Returning with a smile of satisfaction, Ashia only rolled her eyes and went back to work.

Just when I was ready to throw down the tool and storm away. Ashia said we were done. I grinned with relief and sat the fork against the wall. It was stifling hot, the air was muggy and full of dust particles, I wasn't going to stay in there a moment longer then I had too and I was anxious to see how Fury was doing. She and my Pokemon had volunteered to watch the Baby Pokemon while we were cleaning.

"Wait," Ashia said with a pleased smile. "I have something you might be interested in."

My curious nature got the better of me and I followed her out the back door. "What?" I said scratching my head and gazing around the empty paddock. 

"Hang on." She put her fingers to her lips and a piercing whistle drilled through my eardrums making me curse. Bloody hell it was that loud. Suddenly the thud of hooves came to my ears and two horses Pokemon came into view. The pair looked like your usual Ponyta and Rapidash with their flames down low so that they couldn't be seen except for the golden hue to their coat, a sunny yellow. 

"Hmm," I murmured in appreciation of their rare pelts. "They're beautiful, how did you get their coats that co-"

A bolt of lightning whipped up from the Rapidash's mane and another and another. When I looked closer I saw that their gorgeous manes were composed entirely of static electricity. Tiny static bolts ran up and down from its head to down its back. Its tail and fetlocks were also had tiny leaping joules of electricity flowing through them.  "Jeeze! How'd you do that! The electric Rapidash thingy?"

"It's not a Rapidash," she smiled smugly. "It's a Jolta and Joltsan. Joltsan's the adult. We bred them hear by some sort of accident. We had left Teala' out in the paddock during heat and a few days later we found out she was pregnant and her filly was Jilla, the female out there. We bred her with an Articolt and she gave birth to Dilkira, the colt beside her. We don't know if there's a third evolution like Zefire and Articorn but their recognised species by Professor Oak. He still comes to study them here when he does his radio talk show and is writing up their Pokedex information. He's pretty excited. He thinks that if you can breed traits from one to the next there will be so many new Pokemon!" She finished with a broad smile.

"I'm impressed," I told the younger girl. "Can I have a closer look?"

She nodded and whistled again, me clapping my hands over my ears not in time. The mare came within reach and I stroked her velvety nose, just how Chilun liked it. He was at Professor Oak's at the moment in the PC. She nicked softly but kept her foal hidden behind her.

"Cool," I murmured.

"Should leave them be now," Ashia coaxed. I nodded and skipped the fence, Ashia following.

As I turned the corner I burst out into a fit of giggles. Fury lay dejected beneath the shady branches of a wattle, the latest litter of Growlithes tugging at her ears and fur mercilessly. Her eyes lit up as she saw me, leaping to her feet. But as she did, a puppy snagged her by the nose with his nippy little teeth. Fury yowled, the puppy growled and I howled, needing to lean against the fence for support as the mad sobs of laughter wracked my body. _Oooooooh_, how I wish I had a picture of it!

"Do you always laugh at your Pokemon," Ashia asked, trying not to grin to emphasise her point. 

"Oh yeah, always. One time I was tied upside down from a tree and she just grinned at me, the little smartarse. She didn't get help or nothing so for fifteen minutes I hung by my shoelaces and had to listen to her crack the stupidest joke you ever heard," I explained between breaths." 

Finally Fury gave a toss of her head and the pup flew into the air, lading and rolling to a stop. It shook itself and then got to its haunches still growling. I caught a few purple hairs between its teeth and it set me off again.

_"Oh yeah, laugh it up, though I don't know why,"_ she sulked, gingerly rubbing her nose. "_As I recall, the same thing happened when you and Chilun were arguing yesterday morning."_

"Maybe, but he only nipped my fingers and its hard to argue when only one can understand the other."

"_I don't think nip would describe the way you screamed and cursed."_

"Fine, fine." I waved it away, blushing as Ashia watched amused. "Okay, report."

"_Report? What? Am I in the army now? Yes sir! It was all quiet for the first half hour. Apollo started a game of Hide and go Seek of which the Pichu twins one all four rounds. But then Apollo was bored and started tag, remaining _it_ until he gave up chasing his tail and tagged Izzy the Igglybuff. At that time, Target who was on sentry duty, spotted a Fearow some way off and sounded the alarm."_

"So that's what it was!" Ashia burst in worried. "That Fearow is always looking for an easy meal!"

"_Yep, Aria and Artemis herded the kids beneath the trees. I've never heard Aria so forceful before, like you when you're in a battle _"Tackle this, dodge that!" _Anyhow, she had it under control and Talorn was on her way to give the Fearow a good tongue-lashing. A fight ensued in which she womped his arse good."_

I looked around. All the Pokemon were calm, relaxed, and seemed not in the least bit stressed. "Nice one, anything else?"

"_Yeah_,_ the Magby and his little henchmen are planning something, I'm sure of it. A lot of gesturing and peeking to make sure no ones listening and such. They were pointing some, mostly in the direction of the incubator room and the barn you were shovelling out, so I'm guessing you."_

_"_Oh no, not Sizzle!" groaned Ashia. "He's the resident trouble maker. His mother was the most docile Magmar you'd ever meet but the trainer insisted on taking her early, too early for the egg to hatch, so he was left here and we raised him. I guess he only feels neglected."

"Bah!" I spat, another certain red head in mind. "Get it out of him now or he'll be a delinquent and no one will want him."

Ashia nodded thoughtful. "Well, its bath time. Topaz and I will grab the tub and soap. Can you watch them a little longer Fury?"

Fury grumbled but slunk back to here spot under the wattle like a child to his room without dinner.

Still chuckling to myself, I followed Ashia. She led me up the path to a cluttered garden shed and navigated through its mess easily, picking up bits and pieces."

"Aha!" she exclaimed, pointing out a huge wooden tub, one I would have imagined the Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub riding in across the sea. "Help me with this wouldja?" So I dumped the ribbons and shampoo's inside and with a supreme effort, we dragged it out of storage and up the road.

"What's that?" Ashia put down her side as she shielded her eyes against the sun. Doing likewise, I squinting I could see a cloud of dust shot with glowing reds, flashing yellows and plumes of smoke. "Oh no!" Before I could blink, Ashia had bolted down the hill and was out of sight, leaving me in a tail of dust.

A little baffled, I shrugged it off. Her problem, not mine. I abandoned the bath and walked lazily after her, mentally making a list of things to do once we got to GoldenRod.

"Supplies first, definitely supplies. A stop at the Pokemart, a big place like that should have some Translators, or even better, something for me like that necklace Moon had. Apollo needs flea powder and maybe I can find some one to give him a wash, or at least some toothpaste. Potions, Full heals, Antidotes. Pokeballs, need Pokeballs!" 

"Have to call home, Scott has to have passed licence by now, third time lucky right? Course I'm right! Have to pick something up for him. You promised, Topaz, maybe something from here. All about level 5, maybe one of the Growlithes or a Phanphy, i_nny minny minny moe _in the end. You still got plenty of money from the Rockets and you can earn so some from battling once we get to GoldenRod. Send it by Pidgeot and it'll get there fine."

"Gotta call Professor Elm, he'll have Adam's and Ashlee's number. Hook up and give them that goddamned egg! It gets heavier every day. Bet their miles ahead! Not my fault of course! I mean, come on, you're a legend! Saved Violet Gym, raging bushfires, biggest bloody thunderstorm since Winds of Water I'll bet and- Hang on!"

I stopped my rambling and looked down at the billowing dust. Reds, yellow and blues ragged through it as well as the blurs of movement.

"DAMNIT!" I yelled and dashed towards it. The closer I came the more I saw it was no ordinary dust storm but a full-blown war. The baby Pokemon slashed and bit one another, zapping lightning bolts, firing Embers and gusty winds. All through it were my friends and Pokemon zipping between them and trying to calm the angry mob.

Darting between the miniature battles I scoured for Fury. I saw her growling and spitting at an Elekid and Teddiursa. The two stared at the ground before slinking out of the fray. When I saw she was free, I made the mistake of trying to grab her by the scruff of the neck. As soon as I laid a finger on her, her collar burst into flames.

"Owww ow ow!"  I yelped shaking my hand and blowing on it.

_"Oh its you," _Fury said.

"Yeah me, what happened?"

"_I was right! That goddamned Magby was planning something! Sizzle and his mates started a fight and before you know it every kid in the playground was hissing and spitting like Persians over a fish!"_

"Ok, you go back to what you were doing, I'm gonna find the little firebug!" Fury nodded and was gone in a second flat. Again I wondered why I was here I searched the balls of fluff and found that of the few Magby's that were there, none were Sizzle. After fruitless searching, I remembered Fury's report, the barn and the incubator.

"Damnit!" I twisted around and tripped across the battlefield trying to avoid being fried and yet vigilant for sizzle and his little mates. A cold blast of air from a tiny Swinub left a frosty trail in its wake, a Geodude rammed head on into an Eevee sending it rolling across the grass. Artemis here, Ashia there. Ducking dodging, dancing every attack that came my way, I made it out in one piece, minus a shredded sock.

Stopping to catch my breath, I surveyed the area around the incubation shed. Around it was a few fields with adult Pokemon, a pond and a couple of Scribblebark trees. Hang on! Watching closer I saw a small blonde head bobbing up and down. She turned and froze.

I raced forward at her and she screamed in fear. From inside the shed, Tyrogue and Magby poked out their head, wondering why she raised the alarm. In that time I had crossed the distance, snatched the brat up and dangled her in the air.

"Alright you little snot! I don't like kids and if you don't let me in on what your up to, I'll make that painfully obvious!"

Smoochum whined and begged, struggling frantically to escape my grip around her waist.

"Come on!" I roared.

_"Rogue!" _

"Ahhhh!" Hot pain flooded up my leg. Looking down, I saw the Tyrogue shaking his fist at me.

_"Rogue, rogue. Tyrogue!" _

"Or you'll what?" I sneered, guessing what he said. The Tyrogue glared at me and in a blur of movement he planted a devastating kick above my kneecap. I howled in anger and pain, relinquishing my hold on Smoochum to clutch my throbbing knee. The Smoochum bounced to her feet and pulled Tyrogue after her.

Muttering thoughts of revenge, I spat a string of curse words orientating on those little pipsqueaks and limped towards them, painfully slowly. The trio made what I was sure were rude and insolent gesture and poked their tongues. Only Smoochum didn't, watching me fearfully.

Suddenly Sizzle saw none of their taunts had any effect he reached behind him and held something above his tiny head. Rage burned inside of me as recognition of the thing he brandished aloft. Elm's egg, Ashlee's egg, Man, I was dead.

Paying no head to the battles around me, I charged like rampaging Tauros for those brats. Their eyes bulged in their heads. Tyrogue wanted to stand and fight, Smoochum wanted to run and hid and the Magby bolted for the tree's yelping, still clutching the egg half-hazardly.

"Damnit!" I yelled, putting on a burst of speed I didn't know I had. The other two screamed and even Tyrogue chased after Sizzle, who had all but disappeared from view. The three rejoined him but kept running while I sweated and panted after them. Who'd have thought that something with such short legs could run so fast?

Trees! Trees! Tree! Why the hell were their so many damned forests. I mean I'm all for environmental conservation but bloody hell! I'm never donating to the Preservation of Ilex Forest Fund again! It's doing just fine on its own. In and out and around the trees I weaved, tripping over the tangle roots and just barely missing clothes lining myself every two minutes. It was a miracle that I wasn't dead yet but split second reflexes came into plat. 

A tree straight in front! Left!

Another! Dodge right!

Low branch! Duck and to the left again!

Up ahead I saw Smoochum staggering along out of breath and by the betrayed expression she wore, her friends had abandoned her to my fiendish clutches and fiendish clutches they were indeed! With the pissed off mood I was in, I'd make sure her punishment was painful, very painful!

Smoochum chanced a glance behind her and saw I was catching up at a rapid pace. Squealed! I must have looked like a Rhydon out of control because even though she was stuffed she still refused to be caught. Her little legs pumped sloppily trying to keep away, all for naught.

"Come back! I promise I won't hurt!" _Now_ I added silently to myself. "GOTCHA! She squealed even louder, practically rupturing my eardrums but I wasn't letting go. She bawled and bawled and bawled, the shriek showing no sign of ceasing anytime soon.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Shhh! Calm down, I'm going to hurt you!" I frantically rocked her ands shushed her and she started to quiet. After an eternity, she was relaxed enough to at least understand me. "_Shhh, _see? I'm Ok, your Ok, the only one not Ok is the egg. Your mates aren't that good that they won't drop it and when they do, it'll shatter into a million pieces, and the baby Pokemon inside with it. A baby Pokemon just like you. The best way you can help it is by helping me, what do ya say?"

Smoochum goggled at me, her lip quivering and with some sort of resolve nodded feebly.

"Good, which way did they go?" I asked carefully. Nice was not one of my usual sides and being this sweet was sick. I guess ends justify the means. Smoochum pointed vaguely into the trees. I groaned inwardly, this was eating up too much time. With tried patience, I took a deep breath and focused on not blowing up. 

"Do you know where they're heading?" Nod, nod. "If I carry you will you direct me?" Nod, nod. "Good." I picked her up and sat her on my shoulders. "Now hold on, one smooch for left, two for right and Smoochum for stop K? Lets go!"

I dashed into the trees again, racing in a blur of thought. One wrong move and I'd be skittled nine ways from Sunday. I reacted with barely a second to spare as Smoochum yelped a direction. Her grip on my neck was strangulating but there was no time to stop. 

Meanwhile in the back of my brain, I was wondering how I was going to get back. My sense of direction was about as good as my sense of fashion. I mean, your talking to the girl who got lost in the hospital standing beneath the big red sign that pointed towards the lobby. 

Suddenly the trees dropped away and I could clearly see Sizzle and Tyrogue stooping over the egg.

"Stop where you _ahhhhh!" _My voice trailed off as I tripped over dead wood with clumsy feet. Smoochum toppled off my back as my forward momentum carried me on the tips of my toes, trying to right my self. I heard the other too Pokemon babbling and below my below my fringe I saw them waving wildly and gesturing to stop. I tried to say I couldn't but before I know it, I barrelled into both with an "_uhh" _as Tyrouge's head ridges stabbed my ribs.

We rolled as a heap for less then a minute before I felt the earth disappear beneath me, and gravity pull me down. In a day of quick thinking and reflexes, I flung my arm out and groped for anything in reach. My fingers brushed the edge but missed and dragged along the rocky wall before snatching an outcrop. I whimpered as I felt blood trickle down my fingers. When I felt brave enough to open my eyes, I looked around, trying keep my arms from giving at the same time. 

Straight in front of me I found the grainy surface of the rock face. It was warm and its radiated heat, making eyes water. I blinked them away, looking left and right. The walls stretched in both directions in a zigzagging path with no obvious end. No help there. I though with gritted teeth. Then with a grim state of mind, I braced myself and looked up. I only stole a glance before the glare of the sun hit my eye but not without seeing the top, it seemed to be miles away, with Smoochum silhouetted against the light.

It was then I remembered Tyrogue and Sizzle. I swallowed hard and called up to her, keeping my gaze locked on the rocks in front of me. "Smoochum! Are Sizzle and Tyrogue up there with you?"

But a scared _"Maaagbee!" _and a pained "_Rogue,"_ answered for her, not from above but below. Startled, I sought furiously for a foothold. Once found, I was able to look downwards and saw both relatively sage on a good-sized ledge about a meter and half behind me to my right. Though it was large enough, I prayed it would hold my weight.

"Stay there!" I ordered, though I could already see them exploring the edge, poking around. "I'm coming down!" Sounded more like a threat.

Little by little, I worked my way towards them. It was slow going as stable holds were few and far between. They constantly crumbled under me and sending little thoughts of death scurrying through my head. To make matters worse, Smoochum had started to cry again and she made more racket then an Arcanine in a full moon.

When I was positive it was right beneath me, I convinced the two to make room for me and dropped the last bit to land lightly. I flopped down and rested, stretching my arms to relieve them of tension and examining my shredded fingers. I chewed my lip as they were red raw. I hid the fact from the Pokemon. If they saw me lose it, they'd lose it and we'd all be screwed.

"Smoochum? Is the egg up there?"

"_Smooch_?" She sniffed. After a moment I heard some scuffling and she reappeared with the egg. 

"Good, go back to the house and get help. Now." She took the hint and hurried off, leaving me with the misfits.

"Now that I'm here, lets check you over. Tyrogue, you first." I held out my arms but he shook his head and raised his fist as warning. "What? That meant to scare me? Please, you obviously don't know who your talking to!" I smirk at my accomplishments, but then thought otherwise. If I was so smart, what was I doing down here?

With growing impatience, I took his wrist and dragged him closer to me. Tyrogue's fist suddenly snapped out and pain exploded in front of my eyes. My head rocked back and smacked against the wall.

I sat staring stunned at Tyrogue. "_Rogue!" _he snarled at me and tossed a sideways glance at Sizzle. Sizzle nodded approvingly and waved his hand as if to say continue.

Tyrogue jabbed with his other hand, aiming for my jawline. I brought my own arm up just in time to deflect the blow, then swung my arm in a crescent and grabbed his arm. I was so angry that without even thinking I yanked him into the air and over the edge of the ridge.

"Alright brat! If that's the way you want to play, fine! But don't dish out what you can't take. Its your fault we're here and your fault I could have my Pokemon License revoked! It's your fault that egg above us could be scrambled and its your fault we could die of heat exhaustion but know this, don't hit me again or I _will_ hit back!" 

With that I dropped him back onto the ledge and slumped against the rockface. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the throbbing pain of my ripped fingertips and long red grazes. Hell, until help arrived, we weren't going anywhere.

*           *           *           *           *

_Tatter tatter tatter tatter! Crit! Crit!_

I pealed one eye open looking for what had shaken me from my light doze. My gaze drifted to Sizzle and Tyrogue. They lay sleeping beneath a small bramble bush that had somehow rooted itself to the ledge and flourished. Tyrogue snored and Magby kicked his legs in his sleep. I thought about how tempting it would be to shove both off the edge and call it an accident. I sighed. I still would have lost my license on the grounds of neglect. I groaned but even as I did the sound came again.

_Tatter tatter tatter tatter tatter! Crit! Crit! Critt!!_

This time I saw what it was. A loose clump fell from the top and bounced down the drop to shatter on another ledge further down.

"Fury! Suma! Cal that you?" Then with no effort to conceal my annoyance but still not willing to give up, I added. "Marc?"

When no answer was forth coming, I shielded my eyes and looked up. Since the sun had past its zenith, I was able to see at least and outline. Beside me, the other two stirred to see what was happening. "Anyone!" The only thing up there was the vague silhouette of the egg.

"Damn!" I muttered but even as I saw it, the egg shuddered and sent another shower of dust and dirt cascading down. It rocked back and forth and I realised what would happen. I glanced from the egg to the gorges floor quite a way down.

"Death by splatter," I looked down.

"Death by Elm," I looked up.

"Splatter." Down

"Elm." Up.

With irritation, I shook my head. "Spatter it is."  
I stared up again and judged a ledge directly beneath the egg. There was one, a little off and above me but with the state my hands were in, I didn't know if I could make it in time before it toppled over. It was already precariously wobbling and I inwardly cursed Smoochum for her stupidity.

"Ok Tweedledee and Tweedledum," I told them, ignoring their squawks. "You're staying here. I have to risk my neck because of you stupid prank. Next time you do something this dumb, remember me at the bottom with my skull in splinters."

Without further hesitation I dusted my hands on my shorts and found my first hold, and my second, and my third. I climbed as quickly as I dared, keeping on eye on my target shelf, little more then a ridge itself, and the other on the egg which was steadily rocking itself to its doom, every now and again raining dust into my eyes, The first time was almost my last as I instantly clutched my eyes to wipe it away. And one of my footholds fragmented beneath me and all I relied on were my strained arms and throbbing fingers.

I chanced a look up to see where I was and took note that I was almost there. I could probably reach it with a good jump.

_Tatter tatter tatter tatter! Crit Crit!! Tatter tatter tatter tatter! Crit! Crit! Shttt crit!_

I spoke too soon as the misleading calm of the bush vanished in the wake of an avalanche of rocks. I only managed a glimpsed upwards before a huge clod struck my head and broke apart with a fluttering of dust. It didn't hurt but all I could do was screw my eyes shut, hold my breath and cling to the wall. More exploded around me as the egg jitterbugged madly making the dry earth fall away beneath it. I struggled to keep my footing, and the thick fear in my throat from overwhelming me. The dust clung inside my mouth like a fur coat as I tried to calm my rebelling lungs. All thoughts fled before one other. _Death is inevitable!_

Below me I heard the chanting of the Pokemon. Tyrogue and Sizzle's hands bounced in time to their chanting and I got the distinct feeling that what they were saying certainly wasn't encouragement. Out of sheer spite, logic returned and I knew there was little time left before the egg fell.

I reached to my right and tested another hold before putting my weight on it and then searched for one my foot. Impatiently, I put it down, seemingly stable. The ledge was near!

_CHHCHCHCHTTTTT!_

Without even thinking, I knew what happened. The eff had fallen and with little regard of whether I'd make it, I threw myself at the ledge an awkward sideways motion, hampered even more as my foothold gave way and with it my momentum. I grasped blindly for anything as gravity tugged at my body. Each second stretched out for an eternity as I groped with eyes screwed shut through midair.

With a sudden jolt, my elbows smashed into their target, jarring it and sending a reverberating shockwave that set my teeth on edge coursing through my bones. Such agony almost made me give in and relinquish my hold on my hard earned prize. My eyes rolled and breath caught in my throat but vaguely aware of wasted time, I pushed up on my elbows and swung my dangling legs up. I collapsed gasping on the heated stone. It was barely wide enough to support my waist and its length was only sufficient to support little more then my torso.

Again I was caught unaware as a weight crashed into the small of my back and left me choking on the air I had frantically been inhaling. My whole body howled, shrieking at my abuse. I just lay on the brink of consciousness, trying to regroup.

"Damnit!" I swore through angry tears. Why couldn't I have a normal journey and just collect badges and battle the average Team Rocket about as intelligent as Ricky and Renee?

 I reached back and grabbed the rock, ready to hurl it over the edge at the baby Pokemon who were still chanting. Luckily I felt its almost smooth texture and realized it for what it was. Elms Egg!!! I nearly fainted with relief. 

WAS I GOOD OR WHAT!!!!!

I congratulated myself. I carefully manipulated it so that it was safely between the wall and myself. Still stuffed, I lay a while longer before finally getting into a sitting position and examining it. Long fine cracks ran across its geometric pattern as well as I fairly large one, it jiggered path around its circumference. Too tired and achy, I didn't do anything except grunting in annoyance. Pressing my back as close to the wall as could but my legs dangled over the earth.

I sighed and repressed the urge to lean over and jeer at Sizzle maybe spit on him. He had stopped his singsong but I caught his disgruntled expression as he peered up at me. It was enough.

I shook the sand out of my hair and tried to judge how long it had been since Smoochum had gone for help. It had been just after midday and now it was three, but I sincerely doubted my PokeGear was working after all the stress that had been put too it. I waited some more and rested my eyes.

_"Topaz?" _

"Fury! Is anyone else with you? I called back, wiping away the dust and sweat caked in my eyebrows.

_"Of course you idiot, I know I'm gonna be able to pull your fat arse up this gorge by myself."_ She joked good-naturedly so I decided not to pound her for that fat remark.

"Where are the others?"

_"They're still coming. It took a while to get through Kellie, that fricken Smoochum, and all her babbling, and even longer to lead us here. Louis has some rope and Martha has food and water. How's Sizzle and Tinda going?"_  
"_Ooooooh,_ their _juuuuuusstt _fine," I replied sarcastically and was answered by the short sharp, _Larva larva! _That was Fury's laughter. "I hate you."

"_I can live with that," _she chortled.

_"Mag! Mag! Mag!"_

"_Ty! Ty! Ty!"_

_"What," _Fury asked her fellow Pokemon, though from her relaxed position and mocking smile, she really didn't care what they said. 

_"Magby, magby! By, by! Mag!" _

_"At the rate Louis is limping along and the fact Marc is in no hurry to rescue Topaz, another 15 minutes_," she returned languidly.

"How dare he!" I growled.

_"Hey, not my fault you piss off the wrong people,"_ she retorted cheekily_. "I'm not the one who calls him Marcalark or sing continuously. There are only so many times one can take the PokeRap."_

Knowing she was right, I didn't bother with a come back. She was becoming too much like me for her own good. After filling Fury in on what really happened and what happened after Kellie left, Fury watched me with certain awe, or it could have been scepticism, the Pokemon did little to back up my story.

"Chickidee? You down there?"

Rolling my eyes and trying not to say 'duh' I yelled back, "Yeah! Sizzle and Tinda are on a ledge below me and I have the egg!"

"Ahhhh! Topaz are you down there?" Louis's balding head poked over the edge and grinned down at me.

"Are you deaf old man?" I muttered impatiently. "Yes, and since when was there the Grampa Canyon in your backyard!"

"Since the earthquake of 2040!" he cackled back. "Didn't you see the fence?"

"You mean that dead wood I tripped over? I cried angrily. "That was a fence? What would've happened if I weren't here and those baby Pokemon plunged to their bloody death!"

"Well I was gonna have the boys fix that up today." He chuckled embarrassed. I heard Cal and Marc groan in the background.

"But don't worry, Ashia and Sumalee are here with Joltsan. They have a rope attached and they're going to lower the rope OK?"

"Sumalee's head popped beside Louis's. She didn't seem in the least bit worried. She flashed me an encouraging grin and let the rope down carefully. It was thin and mouldy and didn't seem the least bit safe, but I was in no position to complain. It swung back and forth as I eyed it with more then a little doubt. With my back against the wall, I stood up, stuffing the egg under my shirt so I wouldn't drop it. I reached dangerously over the edge but snatched the flimsy rope.

"Ok, I'm ready," I said with a firm grip. 

"Hang on!" Ashia called and her Joltsan neighed too. The rope jerked up almost ripping my arms from my socket and continued more smoothly. Below was an outrage squawk followed by a hiss. I glanced down and Sizzle and Tinda's danced and shook their fist. The rope was too short to reach them and their tiny legs were useless for jumping. Throwing caution to the wind, I wrapped my arm with the rope. When I was sure I was secure, I dropped my free hand and made the universal face, stuck my tongue out and pulled down my bottom eyelid and closed the other eye.

"Nana, na, nana!" I crowed as I was hauled up. My upward climb came to a halt and Marc and Cal grabbed under my arms, pulled my up and dumped me unceremonially onto the ground.

"Jeese, what happened to your fingers," Cal asked disgusted as he took one hand and examined my torn fingertips. "Did you get hungry and decide your fingernails weren't enough?"  
"No-oh!" I drawled, giving him an irritated look as I tugged out of his hands. "For your information, I was busy saving Tweedledee and Tweedledum down there, as well as this." I took the egg from beneath my shirt and held it out. "See!"

"What? Why were you so stupid to bring it out here?" Sumalee frowned at me.

"I di-"

"How could you be so irresponsible?" 

"I wa-"

"Do you have any idea what Professor Elm would have done to you?"

"It wasn't- Oh I give up!" I sighed exasperated, rubbing my temples yet again. I moved to sit beneath a tree and watched as the sky beginning to darken, as evening grew closer. I hadn't even sat down for a minute when Sumalee cleared her throat.

"What?" I said suspiciously.

"Well, the rope doesn't reach the Pokemon and you're the smallest here," Sumalee smiled sheepishly and played with her fingers.

"Ashia's small as I am!" I cried.

_"Not really, Topaz!" _ Fury laughed, still lying down. I shot her a black look letting her know she was going to be in big trouble when I was all fixed up but she just laughed. "_Lava lava!"_

"Can't I rest?" I whined. "We can leave them there till morning, they'll be fine. Well as long as they don't sleep walk." I added with a dodgy smile. It didn't sound like a bad idea.

"Martha's eyes flew open and she scrambled to the edge, her bulk making it extremely dangerous. "Don't worry darl's, Topaz is coming to get you. Everything's going to be alright," she turned around and gave me a scalding glance. "Won't she?"

I shrunk back against the trunk and squeaked, "yes!" and sprung to my feet.  The woman's intimidating gaze never left my back as I snatched the mouldy rope and descended it like a parasailer, muttering into my chest about the unfairness of it all. After all, how was it my fault! I mean I saved them! Sorta, maybe, mighta, kinda……

I past my ledge and swung further down. My hands were getting rope burn as well as reopening my cuts. Blood trickled over my nails and made my grip even slipperier. With my heart in my throat, I dropped lower and tried to ignore my dizziness.

"OK, brats, shove over. This is your fault so I have preference," I said rudely, stepping onto the relatively large ledge for a rest. I wiped the perspiration of my head with my forearm and gaped down, I shuddered.

Rolling my shoulders, I grabbed the rope again. "All aboard," I grinned as Tinda's bony ridges and Sizzles claws, none too gently dug into my thigh. After a word of warning, they loosened their grip a little and gave a _bebe_ that they we're ready I yanked the rope and it started slowly upwards again. 

The voices at the top buzzed with uncertainty. I frowned. My arms felt like they had been in a tenderiser and were going to give out. I wasn't just holding onto my weight but two stowaways as well.

"What's happening?" I called.

"Umm, Topaz?" Sumalee's face looked down on me now, her damned hair reflecting the sun. "Do you think you could pull yourself up?"

"Pull myself up," I said slowly, as if I was unsure if it was a joke or not. Her anxious expression gave its answer. "Pull myself up? On these scrawny arms? My fat arse and two dead weights? Pull myself up?"

Suddenly a yell chilled me through and the bright red flashes of Pokemon being released only confirmed my worries. The scuffling of shoes and angry cries of Louis and Martha set my teeth on edge as I became aware of a low drone. I listened carefully to the noise and my guts twisted inside as I could place a name to it.

Beedrill.

As if on cue, a black cloud blotted out the already receding light. The many pinstriped bugs writhed like the churned up ocean before a cyclone. They spiralled downwards, wave after wave of kamikaze fighters, attacking without though of the consequences, their two stings thrust forward. Their maddening pitched thrum made very hair on my arm vibrate with them.

I was panic stricken! I couldn't go up and I sure as hell wasn't going down! My limbs locked in fear, but maybe that was a good thing. I stared upwards, eyes as wide as a satellite dish, barely aware of the pitiful whines of Sizzle and Tinda as his nails gouged my legs in a childish effort to bring me back to reality.

The knot in my throat loosened a millimetre but that was all that was needed to squirm loose. It rushed through like a reservoir through a broken damn pushing past clenched teeth. The shriek of terror soared far over the buzz of the swarm. My heart jerked in my chest, straining at the vessels that held them in place. The shriek trailed off but another surged forwards.

The rope swung like a pendulum as the winds of a thousand vibrating wings flushed gales of air whipped us in a flurry through the gorge.

_"Shut up!" _My scream died in my throat, bewildered. I threw back my head and Fury's silhouette stared back. I could just make out her frightened features. "_Shhh!" _she hissed in a quieter tone. I realized what she was doing as she spewed forth a layer of smokescreen, veiling the gorge. I swallowed hard, forcing my self to calm and focusing on the situation at hand.

The Beedrill were yet to see us and if those above could keep the Beedrill distracted whether they wanted to or not, we had at least a little time. 

"You two all right?" I grimaced, aware of how much my body ached.

_"Be!"_

_"Ty!"  
_"Good, I don't know what to do," I confessed wretchedly. I carefully rearrange my grip as the Beedrill wings buffeted us and tore my voice away with it.

_Fwoot! Fwoot! Fwoot! Fwoot! Fwoot!_

Five Beedrill penetrated the smokescreen like knives through butter. I could hear the air whistling through the blur of wings and being distorted over the hum. With a crucial decision, I thrust my feet forward and shoved off the rock wall to skim along side it. My shoulder was battered unmercifully. As the skin was grated off I only felt relief as the Beedrill shot past, missing by inches.

We swung back the other way, the screams of the Tyrogue, Magby and helpless human girl blended into one of pure fear. My throat clenched as below I saw them preparing to strike again, their stings outstretch with a sinister gleam.

"_Beedrill"_ the leader spoke to its comrades and they fell into formation. _Why were they attacking!_ My mind implored with a hysterical tinge. "_Darillllll!"_

The lead bug slew forward, the others straight after with a buzz of anger. I bounced off the wall again, three slamming into where I had just been and dropped through the air to land with a crunch below. I fended off the furious jabs of their deadly stings with my free hand. I deflected one vicious stab after another, keeping a sweaty hand on a mouldy rope, swinging and spinning to keep my body between them and the baby Pokemon. I wheezed for air and finally bawled. "FURY!!!"

As my attention lagged, the needle sharp forearm scrapped my ribs. I grunted expelling the little air I had in my lungs and my hand flexed involuntarily and slipped, gliding down the rope with a severe case of rope burn.

I moaned as my vision swam. I was seeing double, triple, and quadruple as I tried to keep grip on reality. No longer able to defend myself, the Beedrill seized their opportunity and though still competing with the erratic movements of the ropes, they struck their target fair enough. Many only grazed but one managed to stab my fleshy upper arm.

"FURY!!" I cried again hoarsely, vainly pushing off the wall to keep momentum flowing. I barely had to wait to see Fury. Her infuriated howls were swallowed up in the sweltering flames that roared around engulfing the remaining bugs. Their agonising shrills bombarded my ears till they swooped away on charred gossamer wings.

Hanging by one arm on a lazily swinging rope with a Tyrogue and Magby wrapped around my legs would have been comical, except I hadn't the energy to laugh. My eyes watered and rolled into my head. My limbs slackened and I fought convolutions that threatened to take my body.
    
    I suddenly felt gravities insistent tug and was scared, as it was none of my doing. Overwrought, I rolled my head onto the back of 
    
    my neck. "Gawd no," I moaned softly. Along each of the four blurry ropes rad a line of famished flames, gnawing hungrily. Another 
    
    braid snapped and we jerked again.
    
    "Fury!" I croaked. Fury growled above me and the flames extinguished in the wake of her tamed flame, but not in time.
    
    The urgency of the situation pushed me to move. I loosened my grip and slid down the rope, my hands being rubbed red raw. I 
    
    halted. The rope was breaking too quickly and the ledge was still to far below to chance out lives. Closing my eyes, too dizzy to 
    
    keep them open, I dropped my top hand and placed it lower, shifting my weight slowly with it. I waited for any snapping cords but 
    
    nothing happened. With something just short of relief, I repeated the process again and paused. Still safe. Hand under hand I kept 
    
    going, struggling to keep my churning stomach down.
    
    Then, as I groped for one of the right ropes between the four that had warped my vision, a thundering screech followed by the 
    
    Phaenix diving overhead. The Rebirth Flame attack engulfed the rest of the Beedrill swarm with a flap it wings. It vanished in an 
    
    explosion of red and gold fireworks.
    
    The air tossed the rope around like children playing tug of war. My free hand fumbled for the rope and shifted weight with little heed 
    
    to the severing rope.
    
    _RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPP!_
    
    The rope jerked and dropped lower, hanging on by one last braid.
    
    "Jump!" I shrieked hysterically. One weight dropped from my legs but the other clung stubbornly
    
    "_Bebebebe!"_
    
    "Look, I don't care if I die, as long as you live but if you don't jump now we both die and it will be completely useless, now JUMP!" 
    
    The weight hesitated a little longer but finally let go. My ebbing hearing heard a faint thud beyond the ringing and their cries of relief. 
    
    Swallowing hard to keep the bile down, I looked up. The thread failed, but even before I felt the world spiral away, my consciousness 
    
    gave way to the black abyss.
    
    _"Bebe!"_
    
    _"Tyrogue!"_
    
    I was barely awake before a wt mucus coughing fit seized my longs and shook them. Not just shake, twisted it violently so my 
    
    whole body convulsed, my limp limbs were flung about. I was nothing but a rag doll in the hands of a giant girl. My lungs begged for 
    
    air as my coughs wracked my body.
    
    I somehow managed to roll onto my stomach and the attack subsided, but not before I vomited over the side, long gurgling 
    
    wretches. In my mess, I could make out lumps of Maroon, sickly blood clots. I was in bad shape and knew it. I lolled back against 
    
    the wall, gasping for air, taking it in long and deeply. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't slow my racing breaths. I moaned. My gut 
    
    was in an impossible knot, squeezing tighter and tighter. The cramps clutched my chest with the screaming stabs of a rusty 
    
    dagger. Its sultry kiss made my lungs writhe even more.
    
    My blood pumped around my body a thousand miles an hour and my heart laboured to keep up with demand. The pressure made 
    
    every artillery, vein and capillary want to burst, regardless of every thing else.
    
    Groggily I opened my eyes, but they were worse then useless. My vision didn't just swim it drowned. A blur of brown that constantly 
    
    undulated made my stomach feel worse.
    
    "Help! " I breathed softly, trying to focus on the reddish shadow I hoped was Sizzle. I heard his and Tinda's faint yells. They rolled 
    
    inside my head like storm waters crashing onto the wave breaks of a harbour. My head throbbed and I whimpered as I leaned over 
    
    and emptied my stomach again. Even when I had nothing left except globulus blood spitting past my teeth, it constricted in dry 
    
    heaves. My head swooned and I was delirious with fever, but I could still make out the voices of distress above though it barely 
    
    registered. 
    
    At the time I thought they were carnival clowns.
    
    Long thin green coils wrapped around my arms, legs and torso, supporting me evenly as they hauled me up.
    
    The ropes set me down gently and withdrew only to have myself crowded around and bombarded with meaningless sentences and 
    
    garbled words. A purplish blotch ran up and down beside me mumbling and a black and red splotched wiped my flushed brow with a 
    
    wet towel. Words escaped my lips I didn't mean and I saw things that weren't there. Tiny brightly coloured dots chased each other 
    
    across the sky and back again.
    
    The plod of hooves and whiny of a horse were almost missed and a vaguely recognisable voice comforted me, but still annoyed me 
    
    with its cheerful demeanour.
    
    "Oh my!" it whispered. "She's almost past help. Step back, give her air."
    
    _"Chan, Chanseeyyy!" _The pink marshmallow ushered the other into the trees while the first muttered to itself and rattled through her 
    
    bag. It pulled out something that penetrated the fog and made my heart beat even faster. A long silvery syringe gleamed in a sinister 
    
    way. I squeaked and tried to get away but it forced me down, rolled me over and stabbed the syringe into a, um, fleshy part.
    
    I gasped loudly and fell back into darkness.
    
    *              *              *              *              *
    
    I awoke slowly and the first thing I realised was that I was thirsty, not that I was in a soft bed or that I was in Ashia's house 
    
    surrounded by floral arrangements but that I was really, really, _really _wanted a glass of water.
    
    "Water?" I croaked. Cal, who had been leaning his chair against the wall, toppled off squawking in surprise at the tiny voice from the 
    
    mountains of cushions.
    
    "Wait right there!" he said quickly and dashed out of the room and heard him crashing down the stairs.
    
    I'd have yelled out something to the effect that I wasn't exactly going anywhere, but he was already gone. That boy just amazed me 
    
    sometimes. I relaxed onto my pillow and wondered how I got here or even the last thing I remembered. I lifted my hand to brush 
    
    away a fallen lock of hair but saw it was tightly wrapped in bandages, as was my other and my shoulder had a gauze pad strapped 
    
    over it. As I turned my hand slowly back and forth I furrowed my brow and tried to recall what had happened.
    
    Flashes of phantom pain and visions of Beedrill returned swiftly and I tunnelled through the blankets and pushed them away with 
    
    and effort. Through another shredded shirt, the various puncture wounds ringed by wicked colours ranging from deep purple to 
    
    yellowish greens. I poked a small one curiously and cringed.
    
    I cursed under my breath, vividly reliving their wings buzzing around me, stabbing with lethal venom. I shuddered and tried kicking 
    
    my legs, testing them. They seemed fine, a little sore and stinging from the long grazes and maybe a little sunburned. 
    
    I threw a sideways look as the door squeaked open and a Nurse Joy and her Chansey gave a disapproving gaze at my hand poised 
    
    above my sores.
    
    "Stop prodding them or you'll make them worse. What's needed is broth and bed rest. You're certainly far from healthy and I'm 
    
    pleasantly surprised you're awake so soon, though I'm sure you won't see it that way wen your next injection is due in," Joy 
    
    checked her pocket watch, "Three hours."
    
    "Injection?" I rasped. That reminded me. "Where's my water?"
    
    "Sumalee's coming up with it, your Quilava too." Joys voice lost its deploring tone and took to one of admiration. "She didn't seem 
    
    worried at all. She had complete faith that you'd be fine, and it seem she's right. I did a check over all your Pokemon and their 
    
    strong and healthy, though weary. You should take them to the PokeCenter next chance you get. Oh, and give your Houndour a 
    
    flea bath, though I guess you already know that."
    
    "Joy check me over, temperature, breathing, reflexes. The only thing wrong was high blood pressure, mild dehydration and a low 
    
    white cell count, meaning it'd be hard for me to fight infections for a good time after. She fluffed my pillow and left, but only after 
    
    lecturing me I needed at least a week in bed when she saw me ready to protest. She finally left, calling Chansey after her, 
    
    promising to be back in time for my next, uh, injection.
    
    As soon as those two were out, the rest of the household piled in, and two more familiar faces. Suma offered me a glass of water 
    
    and when I skulled it down, she poured another from an extravagant crystal pitcher. After two more, Ashia helped me sit up right. 
    
    The room was silent, waiting fro me to say the first words.
    
    "What happened?" A chorus of voices answered, but Suma got the best of them with that foghorn voice.
    
    "When you ran after Sizzle, Tinda and Kellie we managed to get the kids calmed but we couldn't find you. We figured you got 
    
    hungry and went in for a bite." She paused as she saw my incredulous expression and shrugged sheepishly. "Hey, that's what we 
    
    thought! So we went inside and when you weren't there, we figured why wast the trip. We had another, delicious, meal," she added 
    
    for the benefit of Martha who beamed. "We waited for you when you didn't turn up when Kellie burst in. Took us yonks to figure out 
    
    what she was saying and even longer to follow her to where you were. By the time we got there, you were lounging on that outcrop."
    
    "Lounging?" I asked slowly. "Is that what you call it. I was thinking more along the lines of, oh I don't know, passed out from 
    
    exhaustion and heat stroke."  
    
      
    
    
    
    When I finished my little outburst, they were all staring at the floor, except Marc, he was having a fan-bloody-tastic time. "So what 
    
    was with the Beefrill?" I asked, knowing full well what had happened.
    
    "I got bored," Marc admitted grinning. "So I started chucking rocks at the trees on the other side. Musta got their nest. I say you got 
    
    what you deserved."  
    
      
    
    
    
    "Got what I deserved? Why you, you enjoy seeing me like this don't you?"  
    
      
    
    
    
    "Oh yeh! Means you talk a lot less."
    
    I tried to think of a comeback but I knew he had me and I wisely stayed silent.
    
    Fury suddenly leapt into my lap and flashed me her irresistible grin.  _"I for one am glad your back. There's no one here who shares _
    
    _my sense of humour but Ashlee."_
    
    "Hey yeah, how'd you guys and Joy get her? And why did you send a Pokemon doctor to help?" I finished with an irritated tone.
    
    "Eh," Ash shrugged. "We were coming down the road to check out the baby Pokemon. We called the other day and said we'd drop 
    
    by. Anyway, we were coming down the road when we saw Ashia flying up the road to Golden Rod a million miles an hour on that 
    
    electric horse"
    
    "Joltsan," Ashia provided.
    
    "Yeah that. Adam managed to wave em down and she barely stopped for a minute to explain you were on a rope with Beedrill before 
    
    she was off again."
    
    I threw Ashia a gracious glance. "It had to be done," she said simply though was clearly flattered.
    
    "Me and Ash got her as fast as we could. We got to the house and no one was there. We wandered round until we recognised your 
    
    Sentret and your Pidgeot showed us the way, just in time to see Fury wipe the Beedrill and Ashia on Joltsan with Joy riding behind. 
    
    She released her Bayleef and I got Ivysaur and yanked you up. Joy made them put you on Pidgeot and she took you back to the 
    
    house. Meanwhile, its two days later, and the egg has hatched if you want to know."
    
    "Uhuh!" Ashlee said smugly. "A Togepi that only likes me!"
    
    "Nice," I said dryly. Damn egg.
    
    Suddenly Martha shoved her way through the crowed to stand beside the bed smiling sweetly. "Little Topaz! You were so brave 
    
    rescuing Tinda and Sizzle. The three of them have been beside themselves with worry for you, you know! Is their anything you need, 
    
    anything at all.
    
    "Well," I drawled. "I really need to go to the toilet."

*          *          *          *          *

That's that's it eh people? I know not much, more of a filler chapter. Now a new project is under away, hahaha! Be afraid, be very afraid, be prepared for, a Matthews Family Reunion!! I've only been to one in real life and it wasn't pretty….

Enough letting the Meowth out of the bad, time to get down to business. You see I've had a lot of emails making me rethink my style of writing, so now I'm giving you the chance to tell me. Fill out the following form, no flattery please seriously.

Q1) What kind of fics do you normally read

a) General

b) Romance

c) Crossovers

d) Other Trainers

Q2) How do you rate my fic? Please mention originality, spelling, character development and so on

Q3) Which is your favourite human character aside from Topaz? Any mentioned so far, would you like the return of other characters? Why?

Q4) Who is your favourite Pokemon character? Why? Do you have suggestions for one with its own personality?

Q5) Do you like my created Pokemon? Are they good enough for an entire League, (there are many more yet to be seen in here)? Would you use them? Do you create your own?

Q6) Did you like the Echotrance Special? Why? Would you like more of them?

Q7) Do you like adult fiction? Eg, swearing, violence, graphic details, death and so on? _Note: There will never be sex scenes._

Q8) I've had numerous emails asking about romantic development, would you like to see this? Its not my thing but if there is an overwhelming request, I'll see what I can work in. The suggested couples so far have been

a) Topaz & Cal

b) Topaz & Angel

c) Sumalee & Cal

d) Topaz & Faulkner (Yeah, that one blew me away too cos I haven't mention him since the chapter, so I put him in this one just in case)

Q9) Who would you like as Topaz's belt team, meaning pick her six Pokemon.

Q10) Do you look at my art? Critic it.

 Thanks people! Just copy and past your answers here Any submission greatly appreciated and to sweeten the deal, I'll do a human request of you as a trainer. Thanks again!


	12. WOC12

Hi guys, ready for another wacky adventure? Yeah, me neither. Actually this is just a filler episode to get some information down so there isn't much to read, action wise I'm disappointed with it. Its funny, I hope. Not hysterical funny, corny funny. 

Mega thankyou to everyone who submitted a form, it gave me a lotta insight into what you guys are into. It will always be open and I'll do another one alone the track. On thing I'd like to clarify is the mateship between Tez, and pretty much everyone else. I don't know if its because of a bloke sorta friendship- many people pointed out the Growlithe puppy part as being mean to laugh but come on, I've seen you blokes trip your mates over and laugh- or an international kind of thing. It's the latter that I'm leaning towards because a lot of boys said the same thing. I guess I'm very casual in my friendships and Topaz and Fury's is a lot like Ashlee's and mine- you're there or your not, but I ain't gonna whinge. I don't trip her over, but I laugh when she does, or stubs her toe, or majorly embarrasses herself. *Snickers* So you see? The characters aren't being mean when they're eating and Topaz is missing, they're just thinking that she can look after herself, even if that's far from the truth. Thanks anyway guys.

Thanks to Misty, Mistydeedee here for the use of Flur and Operia. She has her own fantastic fic here, Lapras Valley High as well as a couple of others. She also has pics of Flur under her name. 

Thanks to Sumalee for the scanned picture. How did that come about? For my birthday I suggested that instead of a prezzie she draw a few characters. I let her too it for the day and when she came back, I looked bloody awesome! If only we could all look anime. It took us a bloody long time to find a scanner and I had to patch it up some, but that is all Aaliyah's work. She is a fantastic artist and the only reason she can't post is neither of us has a scanner. 

Now there's also a big list of thankyou's to the people who persistently encourage me to write. Emerald Dragon as always and she has an incredible fiction on Inuasha I think that's how its spelt. I couldn't get into it because I didn't know the concepts, and I'm not a romance kinda girl, but maybe if you email her she'll give you a yell. Kenta Macauttum is the most prominent, and paramount on my ficcy's list, though I don't' always have the time to email him. If your looking for a fiction that is regularly updated, as opposed to my 'Oh that time of year already?' sort of things, he is da man! Also Mamo'chan, I think I pissed him off for my opinions regarding 'things.' My sincerest of apologies should she continue to read. At the end of this chapter, I'll post a list of my favourite places and fictions. There's also another major thankyou due, to a girl who gave me fanart! Wahoo! I'm not kidding fanart and you'll see it through out. Her name is The Pet Keeper and though I offered her a guest star in a chapter, she courteously said no. So, if you have fanart of little Tez and her adventures, do hesitate to send it! 

Well enough incoherent blather, onto the story. 

On the Wings of Council 

_The Wrath of Phaenex_

"Thundershock you goddamned ball of fluff!" I screamed at Bolt. He sat on the grass, his tail wagging from side to side and his usual blank expression. "Come one! Tackle! Thunderwave! Lightscreen! Anything!"

"You really need to train your Mareep better," scorned my opposing trainer, Roland. He spun his Pokeball on his finger, looking bored. His Ciskwis scratched around in the dirt with its long narrow beak fro whatever insects she could find. A Ciskwis is a small, kiwi like bird. Long deep maroon feathers so fine they could have been hair, yellow markings on its face around its eyes and feet and long earlike crests on either side of its head and a bony plate. She wasn't worried about my Pokemon in the slightest. I didn't blame her.

I slapped my forehead with my palm, regretting sending the sheep Pokemon to battle an obviously experienced trainer. I chewed my lip and thought what I could do. I wasn't going to recall Bolt and let him have the point without a fight, but one look at Bolt and you knew he wasn't going anywhere. I slapped my forehead again and called, "OK, Cotton Spore!"  
Bolt turned his head and looked at me curiously. "Huh?"

"Is that the only word in your vocabulary?" I yelled in frustration.__

"This is stupid, can I just finish him?" whined the Ciskwis, who also wore a translator. The normal type fluffed her long draping feathers. Roland nodded and she dashed at Bolt. She split into two separate Pokemon and I recognised it as Double Edge. They sandwiched poor Bolt and he bleated in pain. I gritted my teeth, not liking him being hurt but hoping it would knock some sense into him.  
Ciskwis reformed and leapt back breathing a little harder. Bolt moaned, dizzy and hurt. "Bolt! Listen to me! Thun-"

"Tackle him!" interrupted Roland with a triumphant smirk. Ciskwis bowed her head and slammed into Bolt with her rock hard head plate.   
Well, I guess I was wrong about him not going anywhere; he was going to the moon.__

"Mreeeeeeeeeeep!" He flew high into the air, tumbling over and over. With a cry of worry, I ran into the field and stood directly beneath him. His wail trailed off and he fell heavily into my arms. His ticklish fleece rubbed under my nose.

"Ya-ah-ah-ah- AHCHUUUUUUU!!!!"__

"Maaaaaaaareeeep!" Once again Bolt couldn't contain his electricity and it spilt from his wool into my body with no restriction. I jerked up and down, my arms flapping like a Pidgey as they dug into his thick fluorescent fleece. Blue lightning burned through my veins, frazzling my shot nervous system.

Finally I flopped to the ground, gasping and glaring at the bundle of fluff that sat in my stomach. He was fainted and yet he still managed to maintain that same dulled expression.

"You are worthless!" I muttered and recalled him to his Pokeball. Meanwhile, Roland and Ciskwis were karking themselves with laughter. Roland was holding his stomach and laughing long and hard, his Pokemon rolled in the dust in much the same state of mind.

"That's not funny!" I yelled stabbing my finger at them. I flushed red as they ignored me and continued to laugh. I clenched my teeth, then began to laugh softly, grinning wickedly. That made Roland sit up.

"What?" he asked warily. I still held that disturbing grin.

"Bolt is my worst Pokemon. He never listens, just sits and stares." My eyes locked onto his, their mischievous blue twinkling. "Now your gonna see a real Pokemon! She's the original lean mean fighting machine! In case you haven't recognised me, I'm Topaz and if you've heard half of our accomplishments, you'll know she's a force to be reckoned with! If I were you, I'd forfeit now and save Ciskwis a lot of pain! FURY GO!"__

"Go? Go where?" returned a dopey voice. My eyes widened in horror as I searched the trees behind me and saw the Quilava lazing under a bottle brush tree, between her paws was the stem of a plant. Her goofy grin broadened as she took another sniff.  
Oh no! I thought with a moan. Since last week, Martha had let me out of bed to train, she had introduced Fury to the miracle of Pokenip Milkshakes. Fury fell in love with them and it had sustained as her main diet since. She insisted on having some of the leaves tucked beneath her collar and now I saw this as the dumbest thing I'd ever done. Fury rolled onto her back, singing to herself.

"Fury! I need you to battle!"__

"Battle? Battle your own b-b-battle!" Fury stuttered, then fell into a mad giggle fit. She sniffed the Pokenip again and called lazily, "Topaz! I choose you!"

"Get on the field your drunken Pokemon!" I yelled at her but to no avail. Instead her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell asleep.

"Hahaha!" Roland cackled wildly. "Oh god! The renowned Topaz, huh? That was the easiest battle all day! Wait till I tell everyone that not one of your Pokemon would listen to you. Ok, three on three and I won! I beat them!" He wiped the tears from his eyes and held his head.

"That's not fair!" I wailed. "No, I don't call Fury, I call Target!" I held up another Pokeball and smiled earnestly.

"No way! I won fair and square. 500 bucks, now!" I grumbled and handed him the roll of notes. He whistled to Ciskwis and they both walked away still sniggering.

OK, I admit Chilun and Bolt weren't the greatest choice of Pokemon to send into battle, but I should have been able to trust Fury. 

"Get over here you!" one of Fury's eyes half opened and she teetered over to me, still with that idiotic grin and Pokenip stem. I gritted my teeth to keep my temper, then reached down and snatched the plant from her paws.__

"Hey!" she protested as I kept it out of her reach. She leapt up onto her hind legs, whining and grabbed for it, but she only fell over backwards. 

"Your not getting this till your sober. Gawd knows what this stuff does to you."__

"I think you're the one who's not sober," she slurred, giving me a black look.

"What are you? Level 9?" I rolled my eyes and started waling. Fury got up quickly and followed her Pokenip.__

"Lv 29 I'll have you know! I think…" 

"Forget it, let's go back to the daycare. Jeeze! When you've come back from Venus, we're gonna have a long, long talk." I checked my watch about an hour before dusk so no nocturnal Pokemon yet. Maybe I could drop Fury in and do some light training while she slept it off. I flexed my fingers. They stung and a couple of my nails were starting to grow back. My arms ached a little and most of my scratches had cleared up.

The only problem was that the Beedrill venom still left its mark. Dizzy spells took me and usually left in tit wake a nasty headache, or a queasy stomach and no appetite. 

"Damned, you better shut up about this or Marc will never let me live this down," I commented, though mainly to myself.__

"Yeah, but it'll cost ya!" She stumbled into a pothole and I waited for her to get up. It was a long wait. Fury's flames burnt dimly, a side effect of the Pokenip.

I rubbed my temple, feeling a migraine forming. I leaned against a tree hoping it would pass. In a complete switch of mood, Fury's expression become concerned. "I'm sorry. Ya Ok?"

"Yeah," I mumbled weakly, smiling. "Screw this, lets fly home. Come on, Talorn!"

Talorn escaped from her Pokeball in a flourish of red light. She saw Fury's condition and gave a disgusted glance. "Ug! I don't know how you can stand that weed! Bad as human drugs!"__

"Nu-uh!" Fury retorted, sitting at my ankles.

"Quit it, migraine here. Can you fly us back to the Daycare Centre, Talorn?"__

"Of course dear, I'm not the one incapacitated!" Another down her beak glare at Fury and she spread her wings allowing me to straddle her back and Fury between my legs. "Sure you'll be able to hang on Fury?" Talorn cooed with a sly smirk.__

"Bring it on you stuffed Doduo!" she crowed back.__

"Peooooooot!" Talorn screamed and rocketed into the air at the speed of sound. I clutched her feathers tightly as my eyes bulged from my head and my heart tried to ram its way through my throat. While I chocked on my own breath, Fury egged the Pidgeot on further. Taking up the challenge, she barrel rolled over and over and my stomach churned like a cement mixer. I tried to tell them both to stop but she cut me off with a gut-wrenching loop the loop. We skittered across the treetops with leaves slapping my face and I almost swallowed a bug until I gagged on it to the pointing of choking.

Talorn shrieked again and startled a flock of Pidgey into flight. Their wings whirred around my ears and I let go with one hand to shove their plump brown bodies out of my way. Just then Talorn thought it was the perfect time to twirl upside down. I wrapped my arm around Fury and clung like mad to the handful of brown feathers. Fury cackled, enjoying the air rushing past her ears and death just and inch away. My hair streamed behind me, the wind tugging at my cap.__

"You can do better then that!" Fury whooped.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Talorn flew straight up, past the trees the clouds, till we hung in a clear crystal blue sky. I breathed a sigh of relief. This was nice. My head still throbbed but if I surged the thermals for a while, I'd be fine. I released my iron grip on Talon and lay back with my hands behind my head. I sighed contented. This, was nice. Fury jumped onto my chest and we enjoyed the freshest air in the world.

Then I heard Talorn chuckle softly.

Oh Gawd no!

Talon rolled over and with out a hold, Fury and I plummeted through the sky.

"AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- I haven't stopped falling I just need another breaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaath!"

My stomach lurched as I flipped again and again arse over ankles. Fury, somehow managed to keep upright giggled madly. We fell rapidly through the clouds, droplets of water studding my skin. The ground grew and details could be made out. The Daycare, the forest in the distance, the earth where I'd probably go splat……

I screamed again, my wild summersaults whirling faster and faster. The ground exploded into my vision and it suddenly dropped away as my Pokemon whipped beneath us both and carried us safely to the Daycare Centre. I toppled off her back and stumbled around their yard like a drunkard at three in the morning. I saw four of everything and all of it was blurred. I moaned as the big busted form of Martha lumbered towards me.

"Oh! Oh! OH! My little Topaz! What' wrong with you? Not another headache? Or is it the poison coming back!" she bawled.

"Sick," I croaked, trying to get through Martha's hysterics.

"Yes, I know dear! Let me call Nurse Joy, I'll send Ashia!" She was about to rush into the house when I emptied my gut at her feet. I retched violently and when I was done, I righted, wobbling a little, my vision still swaying.

"No, air sick," I mumbled weakly, and fell backwards.

Martha helped me into the house, telling me insistently, not to worry. All I could do was thank her as she hurried me into the kitchen. Talon perched herself in a tree to roost for the night, apologising for her childish behaviour and Fury tagged at my feet looking ashamed of herself, but still the muddled expression. I ordered her upstairs, keeping the cross tone in my voice. She trundled up the stairs sullenly, looking over her shoulder to make sure I was watching.

When she was gone, I sighed and confined in Martha about the horrible battle. Chilun fought well but ignored my battle commands. His stubbornness allowed him to succumb to Ciskwis's low Peck and Mimic attacks. Bolt lasted approximately thirty seconds and Fury……. I hoped I had convinced her to get off Pokenip. I asked Martha about it and she didn't know if there was a cure, but she'd see what she could do.

"Has anyone else comeback yet?" I asked, drumming my fingers on the table and propping my hand in my palm.

"Yes, Adam and Ashlee dropped in about midday and said they'd see you in Ecruteak. Ashlee thanked you for looking after Togepi's egg for as long as you did. Sumalee and Marc I haven't seen since this morning. Cal and Ashia are down the back beneath the willow."

She musted have seen my face pale because she laughed heartily and assured me that they didn't see me be sick. "Send Ashia back will you?" she said finally.

"Yeah, but I bet they heard me," I muttered as I walked out the door. I passed the eucalypt Talorn was perched in and preening her glossy brown feathers. She was a vain Pokemon! I nodded and she nodded back. I added to my list to get something special while we were in Goldenrod.

I pushed aside the long curtain of willow leaves to find Cal and Ashia sitting close together murmuring softly between each other, until they saw me and sprang apart. Cal blushing furiously stared at me while Ashia, calmer, smiled slowly.

"Uh… Ashia, Martha wants you in the house'" I told her with a raised eyebrow. Another quick look at Cal showed he was still flushed a bright red and staring at the ground. I thumbed in his direction with a curious expression and she only answered with a furtive glance before ducking through the leaves. When she was gone, I plonked down beside him, flinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Cally! Oh Cally!" I crooned in a singsong voice, bursting into a fit of giggles. "What was zat about?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly. 

"Oh, I think it was Cally!" 

"Do you have to give everyone and annoying name?" he mumbled.

"Yes I do, and don't change the subject!" I tightened my grip around his neck, giving him a look at my guileful teeth. Feeling a small pinprick of heat at my temples of my headache returning, I released him and leaned against the tree trunk with a furrowed brow.  
Sensing I wasn't feeling well, Cal asked worriedly, "You OK?"

I smiled softly, "Yeah, just a bit of a headache, it'll be better if I rest a minute or two.

I closed my eyes, feeling the whispery breath of the evening breeze against my slightly clammy skin. My hair swayed gently, swishing pleasantly down my back. The rosy afterglow of the sunset tattooed against half closed lids and I hummed a few notes of my favourite song beneath my breath. I was a little surprised when I heard Cal sit back and hum with me, and even more when we sang the last chorus together.

Our voices trailed off and laughed softly.

"So you like that song too," he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, mainly cos its not that lovey dovey pop crap," I said with a shrug. "You can apply it to other stuff too. Eh, what do I know about music, its as good as my sense of fashion and direction."

"Then you and me are in the same boat," he turned to me with a cheeky grin. "So, how bad was that battle?"

"You heard about that?" I cried and he nodded, still grinning broadly. 

"I heard from a guy who's girlfriend told him. He told my bluntly that your nag, your sheep and your weasel didn't listen to a word you said.

That Chilun was stubborn, Bolt was doped, and Fury was on a high!"

I hung my head groaning. "Does everyone know that? Oh gawd I'll be the laughing stock!"

"Yep!" he laughed even louder, and when it finally died down, he wiped the tear from his eye, and chuckled. "So what did you come here for?"

"I was thinking, I'm feeling better, and I've beaten most of the trainers round here, so you want to move on to Goldenrod? Plus I reckon, if we don't leave soon, Fury's gonna be in a coma by the end of the week. 

He snorted again, but held a sceptical glance. "I don't know Topaz, you just said you had a headache."

"Headache, shmedache, I'm fine!" I retorted indignantly. "I've got my list all planned." I pulled a piece of paper from inside my cap and handed it to him. On it was scrawled all the things I needed to do while in Goldenrod.

ò Go to PokeCenter, full checkup.

ò Stock up at PokeMart.

A Potions

A Antidotes

A Pokeballs

A FLEA POWDER!!!!!

A Sowing kit {Note, learn how to sow}

A Revives

ò Get translator

ò More sets of uniform

ò Do washing

ò GET MORE SOAP!!!

ò PHONE: 

A Oak

A Faulkner, gloat, check on Talon

A Mum, Note, get story straight BEFORE calling

ò Kick Whitney's arse, gloat

ò Pamper Pokemon, check with Joy for Pokemon Spa

ò Check out Gamescorner, underground markets

ò MUST RETRIEVE BIRD!!! Gloat

ò Get Scotties first Pokemon

"Hmm, you have a lot of gloating to do."

"I know!"

"Yeah, I'm comin, I'm sick of Louis slapping me on the back so hard I could cough up a lung."

"But what about Ashia!" I sang. "Better get used to Louis, could be your grandfather-in-law Cally!"

"Shut up!" Cal snapped, smacking me upside the head playfully. I grinned harder, jumping up and running towards the house yelling, "Cally, Cally, Cally!" laughing all the way.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

Later that night we sat on the back veranda, looking up at the stars. Moments before I had finished Fury's lecture and she was feeling pretty sorry. She rubbed against my legs and stayed unusually quiets. I scratched her reassuringly behind the ears as she sidled up closer. She almost purred, I swear!

"So, Topaz," Marc smirked. "I heard an interest rumour as I was coming back from training, successful day of training might I add. It seemed that little Miss Perfect isn't so perfect! In fact, she lost dismally! I spent my time looking for the kid who kicked your ass, then kicked his ass! Charmeleon mopped the floor with his Pokemon, all four of 'em!"

"Quit it Marc, or I'll kick your knee caps so hard you'll have to walk backwards to go forwards," I warned.

"Tut tut! Jealousy is such an ugly emotion!" he simpered, that sloppy expression still plastered on his face.

I growled, glaring at the spiky, brown haired boy. That's when I remembered something too. "I heard something too, Marcalark. Something absolutely fascinating!" I batted my eyes sweetly. "Except mines first hand and much more reliable. I met up with a group of girls. They said they were hit on by a guy who matches your description perfectly! Hmmm, I wonder what its like to be turned down five times in five minutes?"

That shut him up. He leaned back against the porch beam and crossed his arms, simmering. With a satisfied smile, I fell back into he grass with my hands behind my head. "How'd you do Suma?"

"Excellent!" she beamed. Maverick danced around her gesturing hands, his eyes watching them with a greedy gleam. It made me wonder if she'd ever start soon with some serious training with the blithe little Totodile. "Gehib is progressing like a runaway steam train! Shahman's learnt another attack. Butterfree has been improving her psybeam and Druean is still getting used to the extra wings. Fireline should evolve soon too!"

"Cool," Ashia said impressed.

I sighed, clicking my tongue. "Oh yeah, uh, Martha. "I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, Cal to. I don't know about the others but its time we got going. Your hospitality has been much appreciated and everything I eat after today will be compared to yours."

"My little Topaz! I'm touched!" she cooed with her hands clasped, still ignoring my displeasure at the diminutive. "Its good knowing people that appreciate my cooking so much!"

"We adore your cooking!" Suma agreed heartily. "But we can't impose on you any longer."

"Speak for yourself," Marc butted in before Cal could cover his mouth.

"Well then, I'll have a great big farewell breakfast for you when you wake up!" The big busted woman smiled.

"Louis will be there to see you off too, won't you dear?" Louis offered a snuffled snore from his rocking chair. Martha jabbed him and he started awake with a 'Yes dear' and fell back into a comatose.

"You'll be off tomorrow, so get to bed." She ushered us inside and up the stairs so fast I could have sworn I was home again.

I changed in the bathroom into my silky boxers and climbed into bead with Fury tucked beneath my arm. "See yis in the morning."__

"Ahuh, night."__

"To!"

"You too."

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

Thanks again for letting us stay so long Martha and Louis," I thanked gratefully.

"I'll miss your Pokenip milkshakes!" Fury added mournfully. She caught my deprecated glance and grinned sheepishly.

I hitched my pack for the fifth time and knelt into the dust in front of the day care. Kellie, Tinda and Sizzle shuffled their feet and looked forlorn. "Come on you guys, why you looking so sad? I'm leaving! That alone should be worth a celebration!"

"Bebe, mag Bebe," Sizzle mumbled, scuffing the dirt

"He says he wants to go with you, they all do." Fury translated, none to thrilled.

"I can't guys, and if I did, you would be at Professor Oaks most of the time. Don't worry, you keep acting the goody-two-shoes and some perfect trainers will be able to train you properly."

"Rogue! Tyrougue!"__

"Sez he'll escape and follow you."

"Oh please! Look, just hang it here, you'll be safe and will get regular meals. Ask Fury, or Mave, or Pichu, sometimes we go for days on an empty stomach. I gave Ashia my cellphone number and I have hers, so I'll ring plenty. I'm sure Louis will let you inside for that." I gave a lopsided smile, mussing Kelly's hair, punched Tinda's arm and high fived Sizzle. "Seeyis, you guys ready?"

"Yeah," they chorus blandly.

"If you have any trouble, just call," Suma offered.

"Thankyou, very sweet off you my dear!" Louis said. "Anytime you're in the neighbourhood, drop by!"

Before we started, I saw Ashia shoot Cal a pointed look. He waved goodbye but ignored it. Hehehehehe! I'd get him later!  
Soon, their house was out of sight, Marc was whinging, Pichu was zapping left and right, Suma was whistling, Cal was lagging behind, Mave was wandering off, Fury was keeping track of him and I was bashing my head against a brick wall trying to ignore them all.

Everything was back to normal.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"Topaz SHUT UP!"

"You shuddup!"

"You started it you little spore!"

"How old are you two? Your acting like nine year olds!"

"I'm hungry!__

"PiiiiiiiCHHHHHUUUU!"__

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

I got up coughing and spluttering and fuming. "Can't you keep that vermin under control???!!!" I yelled and was even angrier as a puff of smoke and a hiccup ruined my antics.

"Just cool it," Suma tried to persuade us gently, stepping between Marc and I like a ref at a footy march. "Topaz, shutup. No one wants to here 999 bottles of beer." I started to protest but she cut me short with a quick zipit mime. I pouted sullenly and stalked ahead, Fury at my heels.

I scuffed my foot on the dusty dirt road. Pines and Shebarks line its edges shielding us al least a little from the glaring eye of the morning sun. It wasn't to bad for me, being brought up in the out back of Metone, and then moving to the islands, but there's only so much B.O one can take. I was sure I was pretty woofy too, my deodorant ran out yesterday morning.

Irritated, I turned my cap around backwards and then tapped up the map on my Pokégear. Pressing various little red buttons it flashed on, showing our location, and the location of the city. With a bit more fiddling it showed ratio's of time and speed. I breathed a sigh of relief, we would be within the air conditioned comfort of the Goldenrod PokèCenter by midday! 

"How's a bath and a pizza sound, Fury?"__

"Pass on the bath, but a pizza would be heaven," This was affirmed by the loud gurgle of her stomach. I snorted and scratched her behind the ear.

"Here." I pulled out two crumbling cookies from my pocket and gave them to her. She munched them happily and we picked up the pace, filling the time with out usual meaningless babble of conversation.

"How come you take on a nickname?"__

"What d'ya mean?"

"I mean your real names not Fury, what is it?"

"Quiiiiillllaava!" she replied in her own language, soft and growling as it always but with certain stressed syllables and pitch it made it sound different.

"Quiiillllllllaaavah," I tried. When she shrivelled her nose with a suppressed grin, I asked, "What?"__

"You said you like to wear tuna."

"Ugh!" I gagged, I didn't even like tuna!

"And theirs your answer, your primitive vocabulary can't handle it!" she jeered. "Though Marlix has the hang of it."

"Tah! That nitwit." I was about to launch into a fit of insults when the first white sentinels jutted just above the horizon.   
Civilization! Sweet, sweet civilization! 

"Hehehehe!!!" I cackled. "Chocolate and showers and spat and hamburgers and heaters and my own room! Screw walking! GO CHILUN!"

Behind me a few indignations and wonderings of what was going on, By the time they caught up and saw the roof tops of Goldenrod, I was on Chilun's back, Fury tucked un front, chasing after them with a mad whoop! Never mind him trying to beat the record for first horse to break the sound barrier, all it meant was I'd get their even faster! I urged them him on with a kick to the ribs leaving the others eating my dust!

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"I'm singing in the rain! Just singing in the rain!" I crooned happily, running my hand through my wet hair, loosening the conditioner. I soaped up my body for a third time, scrubbing my face, back and between my toes! Oh, the joys of being clean! With reluctance I turned off the water and stepped out of the PokèCenter shower, towelling down with the softest one I could find. I dried my hair and pulled it into a ponytatail.

After slipping into my sleeveless cobalt shirt and violet slacks, I skipped out of the room, humming cheerfully. Usually it was only Sumalee's who acted this syrupy and I'd have been on her back, but it seemed like and eternity since the PokèCenter in Azalea town. Sure, Alia and her family were nice, but having Martha around was like being home again. No, thank, you!

I rounded the corner into the main lobby, avoiding a young man who had stocked up on Pokèballs, balancing the miniature pyramid carefully so not to scatter them across the rose and white tiles. Just being inside the building made you feel at home. Sliding doors welcomed the majority of trainers too exhausted to open it. Just ahead was the main counter, attended by Nurse Joy or one of the numerous Chansey tapping away at the keys of a computer. To the left was the waiting room, complete with reasonably comfortable chairs, pamphlets and magazines dating as far back as the 21st century. Beyond that was the emergency ward and visiting room, stairs leading upwards to the trading area for long distance trades. To the right were the trainers to just kick back. Pictaphones lining the wall, couches and bean bags faced a TV fixed on a documentary about Seadra, food booths sat facing a fly screen window letting the cool breeze waft in.

I bounced jovially onto a couch opposite Suma and Cal. Marc was busy cracking unsuccessfully to a girl at the counter.

"What do you thing we should do Topaz?" Sumalee asked. "Relax here the rest of the day or challenge the gym?"  
Sumalee waited patiently for my reply while Cal drummed his fingers on the coffee table. Irritated I answered stiffly. "Rest of course.

I ordered a full check up for my Pokemon so I won't have Fury around for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, my Pokemon are in there too," Cal mumbled. The idiot just remembered you actually need Pokemon to ear a badge. I told him so and he blushed.

"Ditto," Suma sighed. Suddenly her eyes lit up, I could practically see the little light bulb flashing over her head. I knew the expression. I shook my head in horror before she even opened her mouth. "Come on! An afternoon free of ratbags we normally can't trust in our tents alone. We're in the largest shopping central in Johto, and loaded."

"Speak for yourself," Cal interrupted.

"And looking for something to do."

"Listen to me, I said N.O!"

"You can't pass this up!"

"Watch me!"

"Look at my streaks, their gone. Hair done to!"

"Bloody hell, I'm outta here!" I leapt to my feet and scrambled to escape but Sumalee grabbed my shirt and yanked me down again.

"Hey, Marlix, wanna come shopping?"

Marc looked over, as he did, the girl took her chance to slip away. "Jeeze, 'bout time! Look at me! I'm outta date, I'm still wearin last months stuff! His challenge forgotten, he sauntered over and flopped into the seat next to me.

"Get this through your heads, I do NOT shop!" I roared over the top of them.

Marlix glanced me over distastefully. "Come on Topaz, you need it. Desperately. Who do you think you are in that little costume? Ash Ketchum? And look at that dry skin! Those split ends! Don't you condition?"

"Shut up, what are you? A poof? I like my splitends just fine!" I retorted angrily! Suddenly, I saw my escape. Heh heh, survival of the fittest! "What about Cal? His hairs all ratty! His clothes, I really don't think they go with his eyes!" I snickered and tried to slip away as Suma hen pecked him, but Mark clamped down on my shoulder and forced me into my seat again.

"Uh, uh, uh!" he chided, wagging a finger with a sickly sweet grin. I felt like ripping his sweat band off his head and throttling him with it. He pushed me towards the door, Suma did likewise with Cal. He threw me a hopeless glance. I on the other hand dug my heels stubbornly into the carpet and refused to move, throwing a tantrum like a little child.

"Come on Topaz," Suma tried persuasively. "I traded cooking duty with you last night."

"That was a favour to all of us," Marc joked, letting my stiff body fall backwards as he sidestepped. I growled, rubbing my head. I knew I was beat.

"Stupid conscience," I rumbled blackly, and trailed after them a good distance behind, wishing I that I could at least have Fury for support.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"OOOHHHH! My arms are tired, my feet ache!" I moaned pitifully.   
"Stop whining, you just doing that cos you've done your shopping. We've barely done two hours."  
"Am not." I sulked, dropping onto a bench exhausted. I had four bags on my arms; one held the necessary things a trainer need. The usual stuff, Antidotes, Pokeballs, Potions, etcetera, etcetera, yada, yada. The all-important item on the list was Apollo's flea powder. The little brat had decided to nap in my sleeping bag and now I was pretty red and itchy. Who knew such tiny red dots could be such a pain in the arse.

In another was all the things needed to sustain life while camping, two-minute noodles, packet popcorn, marshmallows and of course pre-packaged dinners. They were a godsend. Each had some dried meat, vegies and fruit, for the Pokemon and us. Little treats too. Blocks of soap, tubes of toothpaste, and rolls of toilet paper were stuffed in there. A sowing kit as well as step but step instructions, but I wouldn't bet three cents on being able to understand them. They were like those How-to-Draw things. A circle, a line, and oval a square, and in the next box you had a perfectly drawn horse or something. Absolutely useless. 

In the last bag were some knickknacks I was picking up. Most were gifts for my Pokemon, both belt and those at Professor Oaks. So far I had gotten Target a few Rarecandy, little bloke was obsessed with them, Talorn an ornate mirror I knew she'd love, Chilun a Focus bands, he'd go nuts for it cos he didn't care about me, or the other Pokemon, he only wanted to battle and bite me. Gail, the abused Girafarig I had picked up from the Rockets in Azalea was a pretty bell on a ribbon to hang around her neck. I hoped this would get her to trust me more. I had tried to train with her but she was just too timid to do anything.

Bolt had a Magnet, in a feeble hope it would help him control his electricity. For Aria, my Aquatro with a pretty voice, a karaoke CD and as well as his Flea powder, the Houndour receiving a few squeaky toys for him to tear apart with those razor teeth, he certainly practised enough on my shoes.

Artemis the Eevee, was always complaining she'd never evolve cos I was too stingy to dish out the money for an evolution stone. She competed vigorously against Cal's Vaporeon and didn't seem to get anywhere. So, instead of an evolution stone, I would get her back from the Professor and treat her to the Beauty Salon in the underground. The said it was guaranteed to boost a Pokemon's happiness levels.

For Snap the Ekans, I found a comfortable looking cane basket. Oak said he spent most the day sleeping under his desk and got very cranky when disturbed. I got a nightlight and some of those glow in the dark stars for my Ledyba, Ledrick and some weaving patterns for Spindle, the Spinarak. Locket the Hoppit had a very stylish aerial scarf. Mystic, the Natu I had trouble understanding even with his translator got the coolest pair of sunnies I could find, a big black pair that reflected when you looked into them. And Joust, the knight like Pokemon I picked up some carbos and irons to boost him up.

Also, since leaving Ilex I had gained two knew Pokemon. The first was a Ritusha I had dubbed Miasma, a type of toxin. The Ritusha was a cross between a tortoise and a toad, with something else thrown in between. He had a squat, toads frame and elastic legs, but his head was like a snapping turtle with a parrot beak I was positive could do a hellova lotta damage. His shell was more like a crabs carapace, with poisonous spines sticking out of its edges. All to top this off was the bright green and white patterns. It really was bizarre. Unfortunately I hadn't met Miasma since his capture and I hoped he would like the pains.

The second was of course, the bird, Shirasharmi and was yet to bring him out of the PC. _Gloat! Gloat! Gloat!_

Now, I know what your thinking. _Where'd the shortarse get all the dosh? _

What? You think I lose all my battles? I'm mortified! I am the Amazing Moltres! I…… We'll leave it there.

Back to me whining.

"Now where are we going?" I groaned. Marc grabbed my wrist, dragging me to my feet.

"Getting our hair done, my streaks are practically gone," Suma chirped happily.

"OOOOOOH-NOOOOO!" I yelled, stumbling backwards. "You people aren't touching my hair!"

"Don't worry, _we _won't."

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"Well, what do you think?" Suma prodded, positively elated. "I think it looks a 110% better!"

I scowled into the mirror. "It looks the same."

"Of course, you would have killed us otherwise," Marc added, admiring his pikes with bleached peaks in the shiny surface of a hairdryer.

"It looks okay," I admitted reluctantly. My reflection stared back at me. My well knotted, matted and basically unbelievably messy blue hair was gone, instead my raven tresses were soft and silky, tied on top of my head with its usual Pokeball tie. It fell in slight waves down to my waist, a little shorter then it had been. 

"Bye, bye, fringe," I mumbled dolefully. 

"Stop being a baby," Suma tsked. "How's mine?" She gave a dramatic twirl. Her hair was now a shock of green with a long thin braid trailing down her back. 

"Yeah, no worries."  
"No worries?"

"Fantastic, _mon cherrie," _Marc cooed, sidling up beside her. She shoved him away disgusted. "Hey, where's Cal?"

"I'm not coming out."

"Come on, Cally. I had to be dolled up, so do you!"

Cal shuffled from behind a screen, staring mareepishly at the ground. His own hair had been trimmed neatly, except for his own tail of hair hanging loosely at the nape of his neck. It too had taken on a smooth sheen. He scratched beneath his hair with knitted brows. "I don't care how soft they make it, it itches." I nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Nooooooowww!" Suma said thoughtfully. "Let's get rid of that moth eaten shirt."  
I shrank back into my seat, until I saw a sight in the mirrors reflection. "Hang on mates, I'll be with you in a sec."

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

More then three hours later, I looked so radically different I wanted to punch myself. I sulked in front of the mirror in my room, hating myself for liking it. I hated clothing. I went clothes shopping every three years, always buying a size too big, which actually shows you how little I grow.

"Damn Topaz!" Marc exclaimed, a fair distance away. "You look like a girl."

"I know," I moaned, hanging my head. "I want my cap."

"You don't need a cap anymore," Suma chirruped, dumping the extra four bags of clothing onto her bed, and picking through it like a Murkrow through over carrion. "I mean, its not like you need to hide _that _haircut."

I glowered at her, falling back onto my bed, hands beside my head but they were tangled up in the strap thingy's on my shorts. I grew more and more flustered until I flung them off my shoulders so they hung loosely. 

_I am_ _not some Misty look alike,_ I thought vehemently, fiddling with the singular ear stud had had done that arvie. It was adorned with a small blue resonating amberite gem.

"I'm gonna go test this out," I said with a wicked grin, making the three trade nervous glances. I hurried down the hall, unusually self conscious to the counter.

"Hello Miss, may I help you?" piped Nurse Joy as enthusiastic as ever, oblivious to the chaotic work of the Chansey assistants behind her.

"Me, Joy, Topaz," I reminded her with a swish of all that was left of my fringe to one side so that it partially covered one ye like it used too. "Are Fury and the other ready?"

"Why yes, though your Articolt thought to give us trouble." She gave a faint flicker of surprise but retrieve all six of my Pokeballs, handing them carefully and attending to the neatly dressed boy behind me. I ignored his leer, but something tugged at me. There was something familiar about him. A hat hid his eyes and hair but his businessy poise just made me nervous. I shrugged it off, making my way to the courtyard chains dangling at my weeks.

_How could I get used to that_, I lamented, hoping didn't have to sneak anywhere.

I stepped into the semi sunlight, a gauze overhead filtering its feet and casting the cool shadow. It was like being in a make believe place. To my left, tundra where Jynx and Shivera ran wild, sending billowy plumes of fresh snow into the air. Behind it gawd knows how far away rocky mountains dipped and soared above the materials. To my right, a grassland with grazing Tauros and Rhyhorn with a miniature forest at its boundaries, just one big patchwork quilt of climates and ecosystems interwoven on the outskirts of Johto's largest city.

I reached only for Chilun's Pokeball, and thought better of it, taking each of my teams Pokeballs and hurling them into the air. Each materialized in sparkling crimson beams. Fury escaped hers hissing and spitting furiously, twitching and blinking like an epileptic fit. 

"_I hate them!_" she snarled. "_Hatethemhatethemhatethem_!!! Human contraptions!" She shook herself like a wet dog, embers fluttering in the air and scorching the grass. I frantically stomped out the tiny flames beginning to catch. When I was done making an idiot of my self, I searched the area and saw Chilun's receding arse disappearing over a snowdrift.

I shook my head in exasperation. "Fury, go grab Chilun, would ya?"

Fury shrugged and bounded through the snow, kicking up flakes and leaving mushy footprints behind her. I waited patiently hearing the yips and snarls and brays as she tried to convince the icy horse to come back. Finally a plume of fire leapt skyward, melting the banks into frosty puddles that were already freezing over again. He came trailing grumpily over the wilted hills with Fury nipping smugly at his heels.

"Come here, horse. Joy said one of your forelegs has a tight muscle, but you wouldn't let her near." I was bluffing of course, but I knew Chilun well and was certain that something of that degree had occurred. "I'm gonna check it myself, so I'm trusting you not to send me on a flying lesson."

"_And you know it, punk!" _ I heard him snort. "_Look at those ridiculous clothing! And your ear! Punk kid, oughta knock some sense inta that thick skull, might even improve that ugly mug of yours!"_

"Is that so, nag?" I said sweetly, batting my eyes. Then, it would have been the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen. His mouth sagged open and his ears cocked out in astonishment. "That's right Chilun! I understand every word you mumble under your breath! Every insult, complaint and threat! All thanks to the punk earstud! Ha! Ha! Ha and ha!"

I leapt nimbly away as his front hoof came within an inch of my nose. I crowed again and he sprang after me. I dove for the snow and ran swiftly across it. Ironically, the ice type did the same only as he bounded the snow's surface he sank hock deep.

"Game, set and match!" I gloated out of reach. He yelled now understandable but nether the less foul abuse. Suddenly my legs twined together and I ate snow. A shadow fell over me and as I rolled onto my back, Chilun towered, blocking out the sun. He grinned wickedly, his lips curled in equine contempt and one hoof loomed over my chest. "Heh heh? Come on, truce?"

"_Game set and match!" _he mocked arrogantly, blue flames holding steady and tasting the air.

"Heh heh heh….. FURY!!!"

_"Can't help you now, Topaz, you dug your own grave! Lava! Lava!_" she guffawed as she enjoyed herself thoroughly from a safe distance.

"You need help?" Both Chilun and I looked up startled at the interruption. On the crest of a snow hill stood a girl. She giggled with her hands on her hips and a playful gleam in her eyes. She skidded down the side of the mountain and came to a skipping halt at my side. Confused, Chilun backed away and let her help me up. I brushed the snow off my bare skin, shivering and cursing. Over a rise, Fury poked her head up vigilantly looking for danger. When all was clear, she padded to my side.

"Coward."

_"I told you, you were on your own. It was your own fault anyway!"_

Shaking my head, I returned my attention to my saviour. "Thanks, Chilun woulda kicked my arse to the other end of the playground otherwise."

_"Damn right!" _he agreed with a flick of his tail. I shot him a warning glance but he only looked on.

"Hi. My names November Tara Jane!" she chirped enthusiastically as she frisked from foot to foot adding a happy giggle.

"I'll bet," I said dryly with a raised eyebrow. She ignored the scepticism and began to hum noisily. My eyebrow skirted higher. How did I meet these people? I mean, is it an optimists mission in life to seek out the pessimist and convert them? Cos they were always turning up on my doorstep with that big crescent moon grin from ear to ear.

"Wow! Did you train him?" she asked with childish amazement. I began to wonder how old she actually was.

"Yeah, but not very well, so it seems."

"I challenge you to a battle." I baulked, looking for her Pokeballs. She tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

Never to let a challenge go unanswered, I smirked confidently. "Of course, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Topaz Soarhire! The Amazing Moltres! Conqueror of Team Rocket, Gyms and every obstacle in my path!"

"Oh yeah! I heard about you!" I bowed mockingly, rolling my wrist in exaggeration. "This should be easy!"

I sweat-dropped, thinking how I really shouldn't build myself up like that. Recovering my poise, I straightened up.

"Ug. Ok then. My other Pokemon are out there somewhere, so it'll be a two on two. Two hundred dollars to the winner. Also, since you've seen my two, you show me yours."

"Deal!" she whipped out two balls, flinging them into the air. They spun and split into two crimson beams forming two unknown Pokemon.

"_Op-Ria!"_

_"Fluuuuuuuur!"_

Digging around in the numerous pockets of my shorts, I found my Pokedex and aimed the sensor at the first. On the screen appeared a picture identical to the creature before me. Its tall ebony ears were slightly bent and chocolate-tee brown tips. It walked on four slender legs with the same brown on black splashed irregularly on the paws like socks. A whiplash tail curled sorta like a pigs, though its luxurious tail made a queer effect. The rest of its sleek body was lightly speckled of deep brown so that the suns rays made a marvellous marble effect.

"Operia, the Faithful Pokemon. One of the many evolutions of Diamante when it is exposed to the Opal of Faith it is a very faithful companion, they have been known to guard the graves of their dead trainers. This may have produced the legends that they can see the shades of the dead."

I inclined my head, impressed at the capture. She giggled and stroked her chin. "_Ri-aahhh!_

The other bounced on its toes. Tiny, it barely knee hight and a bright, almost cherry red. It was lizardous, like a smaller version of Dragonite, though it had no arms. Instead its relatively expansive wings thrummed the air keenly, loose skin patterned in glittering yellow and red gave the effect of flickering flames. At the end of its pebbled tail, similar streamers fluttered lazily. Its rounded muzzle complemented the large innocent eyes, with more fluttering fire streamers from tiny earflaps.

"Flur, the babylizard Pokemon. This lively Pokemon is found in a wide variety colours. Despite its adorable features, it lives a solitary life and is wary of other of its own species. It is also well known for its quick, darting movements that trick the eye."

I shrugged. _Soso_, or at least until it moved. Behind it left fleeting, multiple images of itself, like the blue of a mouse on a computer screen. With a faint frown of contemplation I tried to figure out if Fury and Chilun would be able to take them on. A ground/dark and fire/flying could be a challenge.

"Ok, I'm down," I agreed finally.

"Kewliez!"

"Coolies?" letting it go, we sketched out a battlefield in the snow. When done, I was situated at one end, sincerely regretting the skimpy shirt, with a sluggish Quilava and a disobedient Articolt and November at the other bouncing eagerly, Flur and Operia equally enthused. _Greaaat!!!!!_

I declare this battle begun!" I cried, and slapped Chilun across the whither. He gambolled casually onto the battlefield and mirroring his, so did Flur. I swore into my chest as the fire types wings pumped up and down.

"Beat rush!" I ordered, jabbing my finger at the lizard. A wisp of vapour curled from his flared nostrils as he snorted and sprung forward, his heavy hooves plunging into the snow, kicking up a whirlwind of snow. His heavy shod hooves swiped at Flur, but they went straight through the blur of the fire type, thudding into the drift. I stood astounded as the blur cheeped pertly, now behind Chilun. Chilun pivoted, swinging again, but again Flur disappeared. _"Flur-a-flur!"_

"Chilun! Stop it! You numskull horse!" I yelled, practically frothing at the mouth as he ignored me and tried unsuccessfully to even clip Flur. Snow flew, and Chilun lashed out as he darted in teasing circles around him.

Suddenly, Chilun's feet snarled together and with a watery thump he collapsed, panting, into the churned up snow. He lay on his sides, chest heaving, lathered in sweat.

"Now listen!" One angry eye laid accusingly on me as Flur danced from foot to foot, chittering merrily. In defiance he shook his fetlock and with fiery determination pawed at the hole he had dug himself, hauling himself up. He whinnied breathlessly at the smaller, faster Pokemon, branding his hoof into the ground. 

The Flur stopped its agile movements to stare with its curious dark eyes. Chilun stamped again, nickering softly. Flur started bobbing up and down like a bird, the flamers on top of its head wavering furiously.

Growing more and more annoyed as I was receiving nothing from the translator.; I swore under my breath, of course it couldn't interpret body gestures! It worked on soundwaves and resonance to decipher Pokenese. "Fury, what's happening?"

"Insulting him."

"Okay Flur! You can stop playing now!" November hollered cheerfully across the snowy ground, victory evident. Flur cooed back, large ebony eyes like sparking embers. 

I swooned, snarling at myself for thinking I could win this match. A fire/flying verse ice, no contest and add to that a stubborn streak to rival Grampa Canyon with a sprinkle of arrogance and ignorance thrown in for good measure, we were screwed. Despite being younger, the girl obviously had experience I didn't.

"Gust!" she called light heartedly. Flur rocketed into the air, her wings pumping furiously, flushing shrieking squalls tearing up the snow. Its biting winds gnashed Chilun's eyes and nose. He roared teetering onto his hind legs, flinging more into the air, his hooves flashing and screaming like a berserker, his hooves squelched in the mush and kicked out blindly with his hind legs.

"Calm down Chilun," I cried out in vain over the winds a _fwist_ sound cut by my ear and when I realised it was the sizzle of his tail cresting by my ear, I staggered backwards with a pinched yelp. I fell into the snow shivering, that icy crust mashed into my skin, sucking in a winded gasp as it pressed into my Beedrill stings. I stared vacantly at the waxen sky, listening to Chilun's rampage. With laboured breaths, I rolled onto my stomach, wincing as my skin kissed the snow and propped myself onto my hands. To my utter horror, I could make out the lantern form of Flur through the blizzard ducking to and fro beneath his flailing hooves.

"Agility Flur!"

I grunted as the blur shifted into a smudge, barely made out through the miniature storm. Chilun still had the lunatic idea of using physical attacks. He lunged at the fleeting streak with a horn attack but he was already behind him. His hooves cuft the air, raining blows left and right to no avail, but at last, one heavy leg clouted the baby lizard inside the back with stunning force. He was flung limply into the air, tumbling in wild revolutions before pitching nose first into the snow with a dull thud and rolling to a sprawled stop.

"Flur!" wailed November. Gone was the bright smile, now she only looked on wretchedly at the unmoving Flur. "Flur?"

"_Flur-ur._" The muffled pur was followed by the twitching of his crumpled wings. The cherry red creature shook itself off and glared at Chilun, bruised and annoyed, but none the worse.

"Yeah!" His trainer cheered enthusiastically. "Alright, lets do it! Agility and ember!"

I didn't even see the movement, all of a sudden; Flur was beneath Chilun stomach, face tilted upwards and the black coal eyes glittering wickedly with his head thrown back. Flur gurgled, spewing a fountain of flame that wrapped around the ice horse like a blanket, smothering him. He screamed in agony, bucking and fighting to escape, its fiery embrace. Rivers of melted crystals coursed down his side, sizzling as the searing heat evaporated.

"Return!" I choked out and Chilun was gathered safe in his Pokeball I gazed regretfully at its polished surface, mirroring my warped reflection. "I'm sorry I took so long, I'm such an idiot," I murmured. I turned to face November with unflinching resolve. I pushed myself out of the snow and climbed to my feet, looking around for Fury and she was lying behind a snowdrift.

_Good,_ I though, the one time I was glad she was thinking of herself.

She stepped carefully through the puddles, keeping her paws clear. She moved beside me, perching on her haunches. She gazed thoughtfully at Flur, prancing from foot to foot. She didn't look doubtful in the least, just calm and ready to battle.

"Reckon you can beat them both," I asked, nodding in Operia's direction. As I rubbed my arms, it looked less and less likely that Fury would be able to defeat Flur. Now it may look like I don't have faith in my Pokemon, but there's a difference between having faith, and being naïve.

She shrugged, adding, _"No worries, push comes to shove, I got Phainex on my side_." She sat peering across the battle field, but I think I caught the glimmer of uncertainty.

"That's good enough for me," I beamed, flashing an encouraging grin. She trotted dauntless onto the field, opposite the still boogying Flur. "The match may commence!"

My eyes flew up my forehead hard and fast in amazement, as Fury pounced on the lizard like a guided missile, pinning him down with all four limbs nailing his into the snow. Only his wings were left free, struggling savagely _thwapping _against it, whining and wailing. He shrieked as Fury grinned, sitting placidly on his stomach.

"Ember!" November yelled, stomping the ground and crossing her arms like a child denied candy before bedtime. Fury squealed, blinking rapidly and snorting the fluttering flakes out of her face, but not yielding her hold.

"Fury! No fire! Hit 'em with a Swift!" She uttered a burbled reply obliging by spilling a cascade of golden stars at the lizard, pelting him an lowering the HP bit by big. His cries of distress grew weaker and weaker, and were worn out all together.

"Onya girl!" My praise was cut of in midsentence as Flur's paddle feet kicked up, catching her stomach and flipped them both over with him on top now. He cawed happily, lashing down with daggered claws, crisscrossing her fur with red marks. Fury cried out in anger, jerking forward and snapping her maw of needles into his skin.

With a quick glance across the field, November glowed, with her hands on her hips, grinning. OH JEEZE!

"Fury let go! Get out!' Fury heeded my ardent orders, unlocking her jaws and springing beneath Flur. Too late! Flur trilled an ear piercing squeal, lips pursed as a ribbon of fire caught the fleeing Quilava, entwining her in a knot of flame. Fury's pupils dilated and her eyeballs rolled wildly like marbles as the tornado coiled tighter. She mighta been a fire type but claustrophobia came in many shapes and forms. She screeched and leapt at the barricade, shrank but scorched, fur smouldering.

I cringed, her whimpering as Flur rocked backward on his tail giggling.

_Think! Think! Think!" _I screamed furiously at myself, terror closing in as the tornado grew tighter, obscuring her from sight. Suddenly, as if someone had tied a note to a brick and chucked it at the back of my head, it hit me.

"TAMED FLAME!!" I crowed. "FURY! TAMED FLAME!"

Between the roping flames, her eyes lit up and gone was the face of panic. She growled, eyes narrowed into thin slits, glowing an eerie light. With bared teeth, she loosed a snarl of command. The tongues paused as if wondering who to obey. She articulated another gritty cry, as they whirled in on themselves, seizing the other Pokemon with a crackling that sounded almost like glee. Moments later he lay fainted over the snow.

"FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC!" I exalted, giving the thumbs up and Fury returning her best imitation with a toothy grin.

"Not so fast!" huffed November, still not losing the happy-go-lucky grin. "Go Operia!"

The lithe, chocolaty Pokemon minced elegantly to face Fury, sitting casually on its haunches. With its head cocked, its sniffed at Fury. _"When was the last time you bathed?" _she asked snootily.

"_When was the last time you had a reality check?"_ she rebuffed in the same arrogant tone, holding her nose high in the air.

I suddenly knew just what to do, but how could I tell Fury without Operia hearing too?

"Commence the match!" November cried. "Tackle!"

She dug her feet into the match, smacking the smaller Quilava with her felt black shoulder. Fury rolled over the snow, a little befuddled but fine. She skated sideways as Operia dashed at her again, blowing past with puffs of snow floating after her. I smirked coolly, a pushover if I could just….

"Better tell ya Pokemon to lay off the sweet cakes!" I taunted from the sidelines. "If she can't catch Fury, may as well chase a Slowpoke!"

"_Hey_!" both Pokemon chorused indignantly. Operia squared up, rocketing at Fury with her head down. Fury ducked down, thrusting out with her hind legs and tobogganed under her. She kicked out hard as she past and she crashed head buried in the snow, Fury was on her in a jif. She leaped into the air above her belly up opponent and spouted a torrent of flame. It spread thickly across the air like a blanket.

Operia sat up, regarding the oncoming attack and with a rasping gasp, spurted a cloud of fine black mist, cleaving the attack like the red sea. It engulfed Fury and she dropped like a stone into the ice, coughing and wheezing. The almost microscopic particles buzzed around her like a translucent sack. Operia sauntered over her, simpering like a lotto winner. Fury moaned trying to totter to her feet but the mist seemed t beat her down.

I gritted my teeth, now or never!

"Leer!" I bawled Her eyes flew open, locking onto Operia with menacing malignance. They flashed brightly and she froze terrified, the sack dissolved into the chilly breeze. Fury bounded to her feet, booting Operia in the jaw with her hind legs and fleeing to stand in front of me. She glanced over her shoulder to confirm I knew what I was doing. I responded with a slow, sly wink, and she snickered.

_"Hey Fattybomba! Yeah you! Tubby! Tubby! Tubby!" _she sang mischievously _Last time you took a nap the humans tried a Pokeflute to get you to move! Last_ _time you went to the beach, they tried to shove you into the water cos they thought you were a beached Harness!_"__

She rattled off fat joke after fat joke, everyone so cheesy it was all I could do to stop from banging my head against a tree. Finally the torture paid of and Operia was snorting like a Tauros.

_"You little!_" she spluttered, pawing the snow and flicking tiny clouds into the air. Fortunately her trainer was in a similar state of mind, red as a tomato.

"Don't take that Operia, Takedown!" she howled, raking the air with clawed hands. Operia snarled, springing at Fury with all out frenzy, limbs splayed out like a pancake.

"Go!" I barked!

Fury dove between her legs, glissading over the snow, extinguishing her head backflame and still only scrapped under her belly. As Operia's paws brushed the surface, Fury dug her front paws in for purchase, the back half swinging in a 180o and breathed a tongue of flame over the ice, thawing her opponent footing as all feet were in contact. Each flew in a different direction, her back legs crossed, one went left the other went right and in a instant they were all in a tangle on the ground beneath her.

"REBIRTH FLAME!!" My voice rang through the park, it was drowned out in the roar of battle and she spewed forth her ultimate weapon, Phaenex, the fiery attack in the form of a bird. As the flame moulded its shape, Fury's eyes glazed over, glittering in an unearthly sheen, growing stronger as the Phaenex became whole. This was at least the third time I had seen her call upon this attack, never before had I seen it used by another, and I never ceased to be awed by it. The fine undulating wings stretched from the mantle and the balled head became recognisable as the upper and lower beak protruded outwards. Finally it gave a shrill cry of war, flaring its wings and fanning the area with buffeting gusts of humid air. The snow under me getting to me more sodden underfoot.

Operia, meanwhile stared vacantly, whether in fear or disbelief, I don't know, but with a hight pitched yip, broke and, ran in Fury's direction.

"NO!" I screeched. Operia had realised that while she controlled Phaenex, she was defenceless. Her paws churned the little more then puddles of snow as she beamed down on the helpless Quilava.

Phaenex shrieked with mad wrath. It threshed the air, simmering steam rising heatwaves. With wings pulled back it fell into a stoop, plummeting with wind screaming through the prominences of fire, target set on Operia, who's quarry was Fury.

_"__PHAEEEEE-NIIIIIIIX!"___

Meanwhile, Operia was with in distance of Fury, she leapt into the air, maw gnashing like a rabid dog., but she didn't get within an inch of the comatose Quilava. Phaenex pulled its expansive wings, snapping her up in its claws and pinning it into the ground, but whether it realised that Fury was beneath it was too late.

"FURY!!!" 

"OPERIA!"

I screamed racing heedless of the danger onto the field. Fury fainted and the Rebirth Flame erupted upwards in a mushroom inferno. The wind seized me and flung me into the air, my guts wrapping around the bole of a tree. Swallowing at the bile rising. I staggered to my feet, fear coiling around my heart as I begged. _Please! Please! Please!_

I crouched into the mush, her violet fur was almost charred black and her yellowing was an ashy grew.

"Oh gawd Fury I'm sorry Fury," I murmured, cradling her in my arms, feeling like I'd been hit by a semi trailer. "Look, we settle this later."

November nodded, looking equally scared. She stroked Operia's matted coat, cooing to her. Her eyes fluttered open and she whimpered. November plucked the ball off her belt and recalled her inside. I shifted Fury till I had a firm hold of her in my arms and took off for the PokeCenter. I cringed each time my loping steps jolted her, lifeless head against my neck, but there was nothing to be done. I could have recalled her too, but there was no way I wanted her to wake up broken and burnt inside whatever cramped pace there was in there.

With muscles burning and breath coming in wheezing gasps, I rocked up to the back door. In a burst of luck the door opened and on the other side was the kid from the counter. Unfortunately my tiered legs didn't lift my feet high enough and hooked the skirting. His face blanched as a sweaty raven haired girl squealed and tumbled at him.

"Jeeze!" he hissed, one arm wrapping around my waist, the other coming up to support Fury. "I got you!"

Still leaning into him, I looked through my Ponytatail that fell over my eyes. "Thanks Ol' mate," I said weakly, trying to get up on my own weight but he held on.

"I got her," he said forcefully, taking Fury from my arms and slung one of mine over his shoulder. Bracing both of us, he hobbled down the deserted hall, the hubbub of the centre echoing through. A girl praised an Oddish on its vibrant green leaves, two boys were in a heated argument on where to go next and a Chansey berated a fellow for running, it all meant nothing to me, droning in my head as that annoying pink heart wall paper grew hazy. My ever-opportunistic migraine plodded slow and steady to fore, but being the stubborn kid I was I was going to be some doll lugged into the room and I fought his grip.

"Fuh-" I moaned, trying to move faster.

"She's alright, worry about yourself."

"I'm fuh-"

His snort of contempt cut me off so I simmered silently, until we reached the main room. I broke free and grabbed the counter for support. 

"Jo-oooy!" I bawled at the top of my lungs to be answered by an irritated, "I'm busy!"

"It's urgent, Nurse Joy." Ol' Mate called more politely. She appeared from the back room, non-committal as if every second case was an emergency, until she saw the shrivelled Pokemon he held. Her eyes widened.

"Another! Chansey stat! Heavy burns, a cold stretcher for a medium size and weight Pokemon!"

Three-flurried Chansey scuttled behind her, two carrying a stretcher packed with ice, another with instruments wrapped around her neck and a jar of balm. They chattered in a blur about pulse rate and burn degrees and platelet count as they circled her. Ol' Mate carefully lowered her in, stepping back to allow them to work. Still jabbering, they hustled me aside and vanished into the backroom.

"Will she be Ok?" I asked anxiously as I watched her go. Drooping over the counter, my brow knotted as the headache grew more insistent. I regained my breath and rolled my shoulders.

"She'll be fine, though I'm sure she won't appreciate the two full examinations in one day," Nurse Joy answered briskly. I shrunk to an inch tall under her stern gaze. "As for you! I told you to take it easy after those stings, and there you are. You trainers never listen, you all think you're untouchable, that it won't happen to you!" She continued to mutter as she stalked brusquely over, promptly check my forehead, making me say _ahh_ and walk a straight line.

"You're lucky indeed aside from the singed eyebrows and a limp, you're fine. Thank this young man here Topaz, then sit in the corner with November for battling in the restricted part of the Park. You should be ashamed! After all the hard work those Swinub and Shivera's done this morning, and with in half an hour you have the entire Tundra as nothing but a puddle!" She threw her hands in the air and stomped back inside.

"I'll send Chilun and Aria to help later," I called meekly after her.

"That horse is going to be livid!" she called back.

With shoulders slumped, I turned to be face to face with Ol' Mate. He looked as if he had better things to do but this was a necessity. Irked, I said tartly, "Thanks Ol' mate, but I have to go site in the corner and think about what I've done."

"No skin off my back, though there's a good deal off your's. Might want to see someone about that."

I cut off whatever chansey he had of continuing the conversation by plonking myself dejected in the booth with November. She was busy scrawling enthusiastically on the placemat maze, humming merrily. 

"Left! No! Right! Right! Ha! Made it through another one!" she boasted, pressing the piece of paper in my face.

"You do know they're all the same, don't you?" I said, irritated and incredulous this same girl had almost mopped the floor with me. She kept wagging it back and forth, singing and wagging, wagging and singing, as I propped myself up on my elbows, then, I snapped. I snatched it from her hands snarling and tore it into strips. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Hey!" she objected with the shreds in her palms. She then set about putting them back together. I threw my arms in the air, with exasperation and went back to grumbling into the crook of my arm about the unfairness of it all.

What was left of the afternoon dragged on to end a waste of a day. Joy popped over about 4:30 to inform us that each of our Pokemon was fine, but Operia was still in pretty bad shape. As bad as it sounds, I felt pretty darn smug. It was a cheap trick turning her own attack against her. While I smiled self-righteously, November cheered and began singing a children's song. She tapped in time on the table and bobbed her head, her reddish hair frizzing. I could the song the first time, maybe even a second time, but when she started singing the chorus for the eighth time, things got ugly.

"That's it you little rodent!" I yelled, shooting to my feet and shoving the table away. "One more time and I'll! I'll! Arg!!!!"

She stared innocently, awaiting the threat. With nothing to follow through with, I slumped back down. "You still owe me two-hundred bucks!" I grumbled darkly

"No I don't," she answered quickly.

"Yes you do," I corrected her hotly.

"No I don't." 

"Yes you do! I won! Fury took down Operia!"

"She fainted too!"

"Operia fainted first!"

"You can't prove it!"

"Your Pokemon is hurt worse."

"But Flur beat Articolt!"

"And Fury beat Flur and Operia!"

"It was a Kamikaze attack!"

"Fine! We'll battle again!"

"Can't! I only have two other Pokemon, and they're not trained!"

"Then you forfeit!" I crowed, grinning wickedly. She looked helplessly at being jarded so effectively. 

I mean, sometimes I'm so good I just _amaze_ myself!

"A coin flip."

"Huh?"

"We flip a coin and loser pays up," November concluded elementary. "It's only fair, unless you don't like being fair…"

Sneaky little brat! "Fine!" I growled. "But we need a ref." {referee}

"Ok, the first one to come down those stairs," she agreed emphatically.

"Ahhh hell!" I swore aloud as Marlix appeared from the stair flight smoothing his spikes and righting Pichu on his shoulder. The electric mouse squeaked and zapped him lightly. The boy only rechecked his hair in the reflection of a case and was on a beeline for the girl he was cracking onto earlier. Before I could do anything, November was waving her arms with cries of, "Mr Spikehair!" I could have shrivelled in my seat but he was there with his slimy smirk.

"Yes young lady?" he said courteously with a sideways wink at me. I snorted and glared at his pathetic attempt to sound sophisticated.

"Get off it Marlix," I snapped. "Look, we're going to throw a coin and you have to be unbiased and decide the outcome of a _clearly won_ battle, but we need you to ref the toss. Can you do that without screwing up?"

Undeterred by my acid tone, he grinned affirming. "Got a coin?"

Ruffling through my pocket, trying not to catch the chains on the strap, but came up empty. November shrugged with her hands out. Marlix grinned slyly, waving away the minor detail and flourished a coin from his pocket, keeping it from Pichu's tiny grasping hands. He dramatically rubbed it over his leather jacket and settled it over his thumb.

"K, you tails Topaz?" he asked sweetly. I nodded warily, but didn't see how he could rig a clear 50/50 chance.

"You OK with heads darl?" he inquired after November. She nodded with anticipation. He flicked the coin into the air, laying it on thick as it somersaulted, winking in the light and clattered noisily over the table to land between us.

"NOOOOO!" I wailed, pounding my fist on the table.

"Now, Topaz, that's not ladylike," he simpered into my ear. I made to cuff his ear but he dance out of reach cackling.

"Why are you so smug, its not like you won the two hundred bucks?" I sneered, reaching for my wallet and slapping a wad of cash in front of November sulkily.

"No, but I deprived you of the two hundred bucks!" He laughed happily and sauntered away. Before I had a chance to yell something witty after him, Nurse Joy's head popped around the corner of the doorway and called sternly. With a last dirty look at Marc, I answered the Nurse's bidding and meekly followed her. A Joy is not someone you want to mess with, especially since their family spans the globe.

"Yes Nurse Joy?" November and I asked in unison.

With her hands on her hips, head still cocked for any emergency she said in a voice of flint. "As punishment for battling in a restricted zone, since you have water and ice Pokemon, you'll rebuild the Tundra. November, you can do the dishes."

"Can I change my pants upstairs first," I whined, wringing my hands.

"No, now hop to it!" she ordered tartly. Afraid to invoke her wrath further, I hurried quickly into the courtyard. With Chilun being revived, I had only Aria and a few Swinub to help. I spent the last to hours of daylight in back breaking labour. Aria sprayed a fine mist over the air, the Swinub used Icy Wind, freezing the droplets and I shovelled the product evenly over the ground. When I came in it seemed like every injury I had since the beginning of my journey payed out right then and there. Did I have a death wish or was it just me? Suma and Cal always came out intact.

So I stumbled back inside, dead on my feet. I managed a shower without falling over unconscious onto the tiles and cracking my skull. I peeled of the soggy new clothes; Suma would have a fit, and climbed into my cosy comfortable uniform. I had intended on dawdling down to dinner but my protesting limbs said, '_not on your life!' _and dumped me uncompromisingly under my sheets with one arm curled around the pillow and the other dragging the floor. Ironically, I missed the dead weight of Fury straddling over my legs, kicking and pawing until she was comfortable.

Despite being a little after sunset, I slept like a Snorlax.

My nose twitched. Under it wafted the most appetising aroma since I'd left Ashia's. I could feel my tongue salivating even before I opened my eyes. I stretched beneath the covers, listening to the cracking bones but instantly regretted it as the dull throb of yesterdays work returned quick-smart and curled into the foetal position.

"Yo, Fur-" I started, but suddenly remembered she was spending the night in the infirmary. My expression softened, hoping she wouldn't be angry with me. She was a great mate through everything, always determined to do what it took to rise above the rest, but I still found her sometimes after she thought I was asleep, staring in a moon mirrored pool we happened to camp by. Each time I felt renewed conviction to find a Metamorphis Stone, but each morning the gravity of the task would come crashing down on my shoulders like the globe of Atlas.

I sighed sitting on the bed with my feet dangling and tracing detached circles over the boards, finally padding over the cold floor. With bleary eyes I saw the half dead monstered screwed into the wall cupboard. I grimaced as I sullenly realised it was my reflection. I slicked back the knots and cowlicks in my new hairdo and rearranged my uniform, but there was still just as many creases anyway. After I was satisfied I wouldn't send the people running for the hills, I slipped my sneaker on and meandered down the hall, following my nose after the morning meal. I clicked through my Pokegear nonchalantly, seeing it was a little past 7o'clock and when I looked up I saw Nurse Joy as pretty as you please, smiling delightedly.

"I've good news, Topaz," she greeted cheerfully with clasped hands. "Fury is well enough to lave with you anytime you want, as long as you restrain her from battle, and keep her I her Pokeball for a good deal to help the healing process. The burns, though extensive caused minimum damage to her flame resistant fur. Whatever attack was used I sure wouldn't want to come up against it. Any how, I think it will regrow quickly with mild discolouration."

"There's a problem, Nurse Joy," I said finally waking and sombre tones. "Fury's claustrophobic. She loathes he Pokeball and I couldn't keep her in there without her consent."

Mildly surprised, she glanced through the door and following her gaze I saw a thatch of deep violet hair. "That's odd. I've heard of Pokemon preferring open air, or are discomforted by the Pokeball but never afraid of it. I don't pretend to understand the mechanics of a Pokeball but I think that should be checked out. As for Fury, if you can't keep her in hers, keep her off her feet, otherwise she'll use all her energy up rather then spending it on repair. Don't battle under any circumstance for at least a week.

With a last stern look, she hurried to answer the frantic ringing of the counter bell. 

Knowing that I wouldn't be allowed to visit for another hour, I licked my lips fiendishly and all but bolted for the small buffet table in the corner being picked over by greedy vulture like trainers, such as myself. I sighed impatiently as I joined the line, bumping into Cal, who like me was back in his usual uniform. He grinned brightly, asking where I had disappeared to after shopping. I explained over the choice breakfast about he battle, Fury and Ol' mate.

"Ol' mate?" he asked dubiously.

"Don't know his name," I munched, gnawing on a piece of bacon as we took a seat at a booth. "But there he is now."

Ol' mate must have caught the subtle nod in his direction mistaking it for a 'hello' nod, and made his way over to us. Cal shot me a black look but hid it as Ol' mate slid in next to me, with another carefree smile beneath his cap. Heaped on his plate was a scattering of fruit and cereals to which he selected a slice of apple. Picking him as not your usual kid, no kid eats fruit of their own accord, and returned the smile.

"Hey Topaz, Cal," he said with a tip of the cap.

"How'd you know my name, " Cal jabbed suspiciously with eyes narrowed. He was quickly loosing his appetite as he aggressively mashed his eggs into something that looked like he had already eaten.

"Nurse Joy," he answered quickly, matching the distrustful gaze. The silence stretched uncomfortably as they glared the other down. Knowing if I didn't do something quick there could be a very ugly scene, I scanned the canteen and fortunately saw Suma, fuming like a thundercloud with Marc tailing after her. I identified his cocky smile as his 'I'm on a hot streak' look usually reserved for trainers and instantly regretted the beckoning arm that had shot desperately into the air startling both boys. 

"Good morning!" crooned Marc as he shuttled in beside Ol' mate. He then realised it wasn't Cal beneath the cap and asked, none to delicately, "Who are you?"

Ol' mate hesitated, whether it was the rude tone in which it was asked or because he was crushed into me, I don't know, but he finally answered. "Friends call me Jet."

"Then what do we call you?" sneered Cal with his arms crossed, leaning against the window and watching with the corner of his eyes. 

"Call me what you want, but every one else can call me Jet," challenged Jet. I suddenly decided to busy myself in my food, figuring they'd find some way to pin the confrontation eminent on me, shoving a forkful of egg into my mouth. As the table stared at me expectantly, I just smiled with full cheeks and gazed intently at the last gulp of juice in my glass, which I quickly swished down.

"So what do we do today?" Sumalee eased into the conversation, efficiently defusing the tense situation. 

I consulted my list, mentally ticking off the things I had done yesterday and sizing up what was left. What it basically came down to was a few phone calls and earning the Goldenrod Gym Badge. All I could gather from wandering outside was that it was a female gymleader, who had decked it in pink skirting cornices and various portraits of pink Pokemon. If it actually was a male gymleader, I was worried.

"All three-"

"Hehum," coughed Marc.

"I repeat," punctured Suma stiffly. "Three, have to earn our badges. I don't know about you, but I have a few people I'd like to check up on while I'm here."

I shrank back into the corner as her pointed gaze landed on me. Damnit! I thought I could get by without her noticing I wasn't wearing my new uniform. Cal shrugged, returning to peer out the window mumbling under his breath.

"Well, well, well!" I piped, glancing at my watch with the whole 'yes I'm _reaaally _looking at my watch and not for an excuse' grin. No one was convinced but I shuffled briskly past Jet and Marc. "Visiting time!"

I plucked a bacon slice off Marc's plate and hurried away, ignoring his attempt to snatch it back.

Fury gnawed happily with it clutched firmly between her paws and a pleased toothy snarl. She sprawled over a small crib and I could see the full extent of her burns. The Pokemon's ability to heal quickly had helped a good deal, most of her violet fur had sprouted but white welts had formed on her back that had bore the brunt of the attack. She seemed to be fine, but the slightest brushing of these blisters made her cringe.   
"You get to come with me today, Fury," I told her eagerly, taking pleasure in her pleasure. "But no battling for a while."

"_What_?"She put the rasher down sceptically. "_I'm bloody fine! Look!_" The Quilava then proceeded in demonstrating just how fine she was. The spiny flames erupted on her head and back, not quite the same vigour as always but her enthusiasm lifted my heart. With I guilty sigh I cleared my throat.

"Look, Fury. I'm sorry I put you in that position, I should have anticipated your trance. I-"

"_Topaz, cool it," _she cut me off. "_I'm fine, it was a mistake and, well, you stuffed up."_

"Thanks, that's a real weight off my shoulders," I said dryly.

"No really. I forgive your failings, as numerous as they are, but you have to stop losing with Chilun. No wonder he doesn't see your competence as a trainer."

"That's because he doesn't listen," I retorted. "I gotta let you rest, I'll see how you're doing later."

I rubbed her head and left her with her bacon. She had a point, but I was really just too stubborn to admit it to myself.

Glancing around, I spied the pictaphone and pulled the list tucked away safe in my cap. Three people were on my list of necessities. Faulkner, Home, and Professor Oak to retrieve that strange bird. Weaving between armchairs and loose Pokemon, selecting a spare one in the corner. I slid into the seat, holding my Pokegear up to a small sensor allowing it to read my ID and phone numbers. A list appeared against a pool table green background and using the touch screen chose my home number. The cheerful recorded voice sang, _"Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring! Phone Call! Phone Call!"_ as an animated phone rocked on its receiver. I waited patiently, drumming the table impatiently until the voice was severed and my brothers breathless face appeared on screen.

"Hey! Scottyboy!"

"Tezza! Howyadoin? Where's Fury? You earned anymore badges?" he blurted excitedly, peering past me for the Quilava.

With a fond smile I asked cautiously, "All clear?" 

What I was asking was, was mum around. I didn't want her to hear how often I had come face to face with serious owies. All the more eager, his thick black thatches of hair bobbed as he darted glances off scree, then in a stage whisper, "No!"

I then proceeded to explain what had happened since my last call from Azalea Town, without the censorship mums version would receive. With bright eyes, he listened, butting in with questions and exclamations. Unlike a lot of brothers and sisters, Scott and I got on fairly well with mutual benefits. The only thing about him that really annoyed me was that despite being 12 and two years my junior, he was more then a head and a half taller then me.

"So, will she be OK?" he asked when I was finished, reminding me of how lucky I was to be on a journey.

"Put it this way, she'll heal faster then I will," I said, stretching my arm.

"What's that?" I stifled a squeak as mums concerned face shuffled Scotty aside and pressed against the screen. I quickly hid the blistered arm behind my back.

"Heal? Oh, well, uh, Fury and I were, um, tired from walking and she'll probably recuperate faster then I would. I forced a smile and nodded encouragingly.

"Oh, you poor dears!" she cooed, pulling back a little. With silent relief, then retold the story, leaving out key parts, basically anything that had a factor of danger over washing dishes, and fabricated a fair bit more, but mums satisfied and self secure expression settled my conscience. Concluding for a second time, she inquired after Fury.

"Resting in our room," I lied quickly. After more idle chitchat, mum chewed her lip.

"Topaz, you do remember what time of year it is, don't you?"

"Mum! I'm shocked! Of course I remember!" I exclaimed with mock outrage. Of course, I didn't have a bloody clue….. Oh well it would come to me later, these things always did, usually during an important maths exam.

"Take care Topaz, I'll tell your father you called, that you're in one piece. He's got a lot of confidence in you." She sighed with a weary smile and I knew she spent a good part of her day wondering if at that precise moment I was about to be eaten by an Ursaring. "Well, tell Fury I'm sure she'll be up and at 'em in no time. Good luck and I'll see you there."

"'Course mum, hooroo. Later Scottyboy!" I kept my bright cheerful smile plastered over my face until the screen winked back to its option menu and I drooped over the table. "There?" I wondered.

With my chin in my palms I swivelled my eyes to the list of phone numbers on the screen. l I made to press Faulkner's name but thought better of it, instead sweeping my little pile of knickknacks into my arms and logged off my Id. I climbed the flight of pastel pink stairs up to the upstairs arenas, trade forums and PC phones.

"Bonza!" I cheered quietly as every panel was empty. I snagged the single PC panel and closed the door behind me. I punched up the menu and responded to the prompt that was the custodian of my boxes was Professor Oak.

Again that irritating little phone appeared joggling on the hook but was squashed almost immediately as Professor Oak's red and flustered face appeared mashed against the screen.

"Yes! Yes! What!" he yelled frantically.

I recoiled as I peered uncertainly past him. "Is this a bad time?"

"Topaz! Thank heavens!" The old mans face bloomed with sheer relief, but blanched as an explosion, dulled by the speakers skewed it violently and he ducked beneath the table. The screen showed something as close to a war zone as any. Beakers flung left and ring, some smoking, some rolling shattered in pools of multifractual colours. A shelf split down the centre spilled a cascade of capture balls over cracked and charred tiles.

"Professor Oak!" I blurted, eyes searching frenetically for him. "Are you there? What is it? A Team Rocket Assault!! Mewtwo! Is it Mewtwo? Is it-"

"It's that bird you sent me!" he wailed, still out of sight. Suddenly two callused hands gripped the frame of the monitor and yanked it off the table. After a moment of adjustment, his face reappeared flustered, still looking past the desk legs. A sharp shriek rent the air and I vaguely remembered it, I also remembered the circumstances I had heard it. It was majorly pissed.

"What do you mean?" I snapped irked, as if it were my fault.

"I had been observing its stats inside the Pokeball until yesterday afternoon when I released it! I've been trapped ever since! It won't let people in or myself out. I'm hungry and my tests are in ruin. You're right; it was a newly discovered Pokemon. "Ohhhh!" He glanced miserably at the chemistry set. "That bird was an incredible DNA breakthrough."

"I don't think he sees it that way," I pointed out as a crackling florescent flame scorched an upended chair behind him coupled with another terrorising screech. "Why don't you recall it?"

"He shot me a black look that said all too clearly 'duh!', but was too polite to say it. "I would, but your Pokeball is in that mess out there!" he retorted jabbering at the balls rolling over the floor.

"Ok, it's a fully red Pokeball with a violet strip running around it, passing through the release button. It's an ultraball," I described, ticking off on my fingers. There was a soft thud as Professor Oak set the monitor on the ground, facing out at the devastated lab.

"I'm too old for this," he mumbled, crouching at the edge of the screen and scanning the scattered balls for mine. He nodded slightly, indicating he has spotted it. "I should be relaxing and eating my tofu!" As if on cue his stomach gurgled loudly, and a small sweat-drop appearing at the corner of his eye, identical to my own. I shook it off concentrating on the task at the hand. You really had to admire the man, devoting his life to Pokemon and Trainers dealing with hardships like this everyday. Okay, maybe not quite like this.

A distance crash signalled the bird was on the other side of the building and like a shot the Professor was off, dashing low over the floor and darting looks over his shoulder. I craned my neck, like when your playing a racing game, desperately trying for a better view but all I could hear were slippers slapping the tiles and the swishing of the fabric of his labcoat. Suddenly an enraged shriek and an energy blast blew over the table and the pictaphone monitor rolling across the floor, melted plastic melting down the scree. Bursts of static interrupted, snowing it at irregular intervals, but the bullet form of blue streaked past, toppling the screen again and landing it on its head.

Upside down, dead centre was the Professor frozen like a Nidoran in the spotlight, the bird set on its course like a guided missile.

With my heart in my throat, I snatched the screen, putting my lips to the speaker and smashed my balled fist on the _Speak All_ button. I bawled at the top of my lungs. Somewhere in the room, a megaphone still left in tact bellowed my voice sending it resounding like the voice of God. "MOVE IT OLD MAN!"

Professor Oak snapped from his stupor, spied the bird dazed from the yell and ran. Jarred by movement, it screamed flared its wings with glowing ambiance and pumping his long peacock tail. Pulled against the ferocious gusts of air, I saw the Professors fist slam down on one of the Pokeballs rolling over the floor like marbles. I leapt from my chair sending it clattering over the floor as his legs flew from under him. The bird cried, Oak dived with arms out stretched, landed on his shoulder and rolled hugging something to his chest. Scrambling from his knees to his feet he flung his arm out, clasping a red Ultraball with a violet stripe, and boomed "Pokemon Return!"

The red light charged the bird, trapping it and sucking it in a shimmering crimson curtain. He shrilled, vainly struggling against the intangible force but slowly and surely his molecules dissolved from pure matter and I heard the distinctive ping of the full Ultraball.

After a moment of adjusting his tie and making himself presentable, he hobbled over, balancing most of his weight on one leg. The feet grew closer and he stooped with a soft groan to set the blinking monitor right way up on a stool.

"Wow!" I burst out. "That was legendary Professor!"

Smoothing his hair into place he looked down at me. "Is that so? I don't take kindly to being referred to as 'Old man." I blushed furiously, ready to stutter an apology and an excuse in the same sentence but he smiled wearily gazing around.

"I hope insurance covers this." I cringed, because some uncanny instinct I knew that if it didn't it would be coming from someone else's pocket, namely a blue haired someone. "So, Topaz, why did you call me?"

"To get that bird," I said sheepishly, playing with the fingertips of my pointers, feeling very, very small.

"Of course," Professor Oak obliged, rather pleased, but one eyebrow rose with caution. "Are you sure? It may be, well, dangerous."

"No worries, Prof!" I laughed arrogantly, watching the irritation at the shortened version of his title. "I'm his trainer! He'll recognise me!"

"That's precisely what I'm afraid of!" he emphasised. "But you are the trainer. Give me a few minutes to find a working teleporter."

"'Course Professor," I fetched back the chair that was lying legs up in the corner of the cubicle, one wheel still spinning. Just as I scooted it in front of the monitor, he returned, a rosy red."

I have one viable and it's all set up with the bird in place. Who are you sending back?" he puffed with his back to me, fingers clacking along a sparking keyboard.

"Bolt," I answered with a discouraged sigh. Professor Oak heard and shuddered.

"Really? Couldn't you send that lovable little Sentret?" He returned to face me with a pleading smile. When he saw I was steadfast in my choice, he moaned softly, muttering, "I'm really learning to dislike that Mareep. Okay, ready."

I placed Bolt's Pokeball in a slot and with a trilling chirp, the machine hummed to life and the ball glowed becoming insubstantial. The machine _pinged _and instead of an entirely red Pokeball was one divided with and elliptical stripe. I hesitantly retrieved it; fervently praying the mechanisms wouldn't give out while I held it so close to my face.

"I have…. Bolt," Professor Oak alerted reluctantly.

"Well, I have phone calls to make, as well as reassemble this place. Now where did Tracy disappear to…"

"Sorry for all the trouble," I apologised again, bobbing up and down like a twig in a wave. He nodded absently and ended the transmission, leaving me clutching the ball nervously. I rolled it in my palm. Wondering if I should try releasing it outside, and thinking better of it. Outside it would escape and I'd die before I let that happen. At least in here I could contain the damage.

With my mind made up I held it at an arms length, and squeaked the release command. "Pokemon go?"

The red beam lanced out and I jerked back, covering my head and diving for the corner. Through my fingertips I spied the birds physical form manifesting. Its raptorish beak for the tearing of prey bulged on its sleek head and keen eyes. Wings built for hovering and manipulating the wind pinned to its body with gleaming talons on stark and wrinkled feet for grasping rather then walking. Its long flowing tail rippled after it. All this bathed in sunset.

"_RIIIIIIIIII!"_

_SPLAT!_

The majestic bird sprawled against the winder pane like a dog chasing parked cars. A trailing '_bri' _followed by it sliding down slowly and slumping at the bottom. His fierce eyes blinked groggily as it sat, feet splayed and his tail swathed as an emperor's robe. I, meanwhile had dived into the corner with my hands over my eyes peeking cowardly through my fingers. I waited tensely and still it sat stunned.

Very slowly, I moved from my foetal position into a crouch, peering intently. With a few kangahops, I inched closer until I was in a arms reach, but I wasn't putting my hand out just yet, not with that wicked beak. This close, I could make out the faint rise and fall of its chest as it inhaled, the sun golden disk bobbing up and down, sending a ripple of light over the glossy sheen of its feathers.

Suddenly it stirred, and I almost broke for the door to run screaming to Nurse Joy for help. Again, its wings gave a flutter. Swallowing hard, I watched as its head shook away the glazed look, and calmly surveyed the room. Finally its penetrating gaze laid on me, searching me up and down, with no hint of letting go. I stiffly hunched with stricken features ready to be blown away at any second by a Solar Flare. "Still it patiently watched.

"There you are," it said coolly in a clearly male voice, propping itself up and smoothing out his rumpled feathers, tucking his head into his shoulder to preen.

"There I am?" I repeated shrilly, still not budging.

"No. Bad human. Ya say, 'here I am.' He scolded, not stopping his meticulous cleaning. "Funny, ya humans invented the language and ya still can't get it right."

"Now just a minute-" I began, irked at his tone, like someone belittling a pet for peeing on the mat.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing!" I stuttered quickly. "Nothing! Nothing at all! Not a word past my lips." I gave a quick zipit mime and stretched a smile, as he eyed my odd behaviour with a mouthful of feathers. He craned his neck letting pull slowly from his mouth, fluffed himself up and returned to his searching eyes to me so that I couldn't help but twitch.

"So, what? Are you only brave when cornered or are you trying to trick me?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Not on your life," I replied sincerely. He accepted this placidly without another word, but ambled closer with a skipity, skipity kind of a lope found in most parrots. I scuttled out of his path and pressed against the wall of the cubicle more curious then frightened. He hopped past me, latched one claw into the woven seat of the chair, then his beak, then his other foot, until he had clambered to the top of it. We stared at each other eye to eye. The room was deathly silent, until, that is, he spied the Pokeball clutched in my frozen hand. The bird lost its good-humoured expression, glaring with disgust.

"Can I getta look at that?" he growled. With another uncertain and lopsided smile, I hastily obliged, holding the compressed Pokeball on the palm of my shaking and outstretched palm. He seized it in one talon, holding it up to his eye with head cocked as he inspected it attentively, cleverly turning it through his claws. His short quill like crest clicked up and down in something I had recognised with Aria, if I ever saw her so, agitation. As soon as I realised, I scrambled back into the corner with my hand ready to grope for Target's Pokeball, my Sentret the only one small enough to be able to battle comfortably in the room.

The bird glanced my way sceptically and slotted the ball between his beak, the release button behind his poised tongue. My heart suddenly rolled onto its back waving a little white flag. He knew it; I knew it, his coal grey tongue wagged by the button tauntingly with red eyes glittering. Did I move? Not on your bloody Chansey, or my life. I'm not that stupid! I saw the spac-attack he'd had at the lab! I wasn't deluded, but then again my reputation as a trainer would be shot to oblivion if I let the thing get away. Fury would be pretty trounced if all her hard work were for naught. And Nurse Joy would have a fit……

CRUNCH!!! 

My thoughts trailed off as the beak clamped down on the smooth orb. It shattered. Slivers of the splintered shell spun about the room, cogs and coils hung dangling by wires a long the inside of the crushed pieces in his mouth, sparking bright scintillas of red and white electricity dribbled sickly from the frayed ends. With an almost inaudible chuckle the bird let the tangle of wires drop with a clatter to the floor. And then, to add insult to injury the Ultraballs lens rolled from under it to wobble drunkenly beneath my nose and topple onto its side, winking mockingly.

"Why you little!" I exploded, overcoming my timidness in outrage. "Do you have any idea how expensive that ball was? Not only was it an Ultraball but it was custom made! You bloody better pay up!"

With head still cocked and smiling with dry amusement he said graciously," Oh, I'm sorry, let me get my purse."

I wagged my finger and jabbed at him, mouth opening and closing at a loss for words. Finally my shoulders sagged in defeat, with a mushroomed sigh. I had plans on spending the day cruising the underground markets and checking the sights, not arguing with tweety bird here. 

The bird suddenly cackled with delight. "Ok, lets go!"

"Go where?" I muttered sullenly, beneath my fringe. That made me even more depressed, what was left of it.

"Out of this room, its hot and stuffy."

"Nu-uh! I ain't taking you anywhere! You're crazy!" I snapped, folding my arms, no longer patient. The bird seemed all the more mirthful. He clucked his tongue with a please flutter of his tail.

"Pfft, the old crank deserved it," he snorted. "It was all good and well, till he wanted a Deanay sample!"

"DNA?" I echoed, drawing closer in a quick little hop, he spread his wings and fluttered onto my shoulder. I restrained from batting him off like a mosquito, he was certainly as irritating as one.

"He ripped out one of my tail feathers!" He sneered indigent, his breast flushing a burnt orangey red. "Do you know how long it'll take to grow back? A decade at least!" He hung his head mournfully.

"Fine." I muttered grudgingly. But I pointed a threatening finger. "But one false move and every Pokemon will be on you like a tone of bricks. Including Suma's Alavar.

He bristled but nodded submissively. I opened the door a crack, peering through. A lone weather worn trainer ambled up the staircase but no one else. I opened the door fully and hurried down the stairs, nervously aware of the time bomb chattering pleasantly on my shoulder about how strange the human world was. I nodded absently but of course wasn't listening to a single word.

I emerged from the stairwell hesitantly, checking around the corner like a paranoid. I kept close to the wall and inched hastily towards my room. A few trainers stared after the newly discovered Pokemon and me.

Suddenly I hit the roof as Nurse Joy's happy-as-a-lark voice sang out across the room.

"Topaz! Oh Topaz! A phone call for you!" I cringed, winding through the trainers and tables until I reached her. "I'm transferring it to that Pictaphone in the corner."

"Who is it?" I asked curiously as she put the phone down and tapped at the keys of the computer. Her eyes didn't leave the screen as she answered. "Oh, its Sylvia Blackburn."

"Sylvia Blackburn..." I mused, hurrying to the booth where it juggled exuberantly and flashing the text _"On Hold!" _accompanied by a smiling sun winking, as if there was a little secret just between the two of us. With lips pursed in a wry smile at the thought, the phone flicked on.

"Tezza, my little darl!" cried the face delighted, warm and hopeful, blue eyes bright with experience looking over wire rimmed spectacles and pale hair like fairy floss.

"Nanna?" I exclaimed in disbelief, rocking the chair and tumbling into a heap on the floor. The bird shrieked and sped for a perch on a curtain rung. He shot me a dark look before preening again. Poking my head up and climbing into my seat in a bright red blush. Opposite me my grandmother smiled cheerily, fixing a daisy in the breast pocket of her cardigan.

"Nanna? I stuttered, forcing my voice to work, my eyes still blinking in surprise. She was the last person I expected to see on my journey. "Nan! How did you get through?"

"Your mother called me and told me you were in Goldenrod. I drop by often and talk to the attending nurses. But that's not why I called, wasting your precious time as a trainer. You must be busy if you can't even call you poor distant grandmother that you actually had gone on a Journey! But that's ok, these brittle bones will survive and your coming, that's the main thing, especially since you're so close-"

Coming? Close to wher- oh no. Oh no. Ohnonononononono! It can't be that time already? We only had one 3 years ago! Ohnonononono! "-to my property, so it shouldn't be a long trip. You are coming, aren't you? I mean my arthritis is sneaking up on my, I'm bearing well, and my osteoporosis, but I might not-" her eyes bulged with a dry raspy cough. "-see you before the next one."

My grandmother was the mother of the guilt trip, but I strengthened my resolve. "you see, Nan," I began, my voice cracking nervously. " I really don't think I can, my journey's really packed-"

"Oh really? Don't bother yourself then; all it is is a family tradition, not important to young'ns. You run along on your Pokemon Journey, with you're battles, and you're hoodlum friends, facing off against beastly odds every time you leave the comforts of civilization, and before you know it you've joined those hoodlum kids, Team Rocket! Stealing and cheating and lying and forsaking all that your parents taught you. Before you know it you'll have been caught by Officer Jenny after a shoot out and you be given a ten-year jail sentence!"

My nanna's eyes misted over, closing them with a sniffle. She smiled as if she had merely been a little distracted and concerned. She smiled weakly with her bottom lip quivering on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry dear, you go on your journey."

Groaning inwardly I answered wearily," Okay, Nan, I'm coming."

Instantly her watery eyes vanished. "Oh you're such a good girl! Bring a pavlova!" The screen winked to its golf course green before I had a chance to object.

I leaned back in my seat, the hustle and bustle of the PokeCenter carrying on indifferent as I tapped my cheek with my index finger wondering how the hell that had happened and how badly I had stuffed myself over. Mulling it over I searched the walls until they lay on the calendar.

23rd.

"FIVE DAYS!"

Wailing in horror, I bolted for my room with arms flailing and my head in overdrive. Shoes squealing on the tiles and I reeled around the corner like I was on roller skates. Darting around the room I snatched my little knickknacks and crammed them into my bag without heed to order, or even breakables. I flung my spare clothes over my shoulder mumbling disjointedly before straining to stuff them in too.

"What the?" Sumalee's perplexed expression peeked around the doorway at the miniature whirlwind.

"No time. Get packed! I'm leaving with or without you!" Grunting, the grating of the zipper held the bulging backpack shut and I rushed out of the room, almost charging my other travelling companions flat on their arses. They stared after me bewildered before I'd stepped around the corner, dwarfed by my pack.

Rapidly pinging the counter bell, Nurse Joy popped to the counter, flicking through a manual sparing a quick glance.

"Please Nurse Joy! I need you to release Fury. We gotta leave immediately!"

"Just a moment, Trainer ID. "I handed my Pokedex over the counter. She scanned it over he computer with a generous beep. "There. Now remember what I said. No battling, minimum walking, _no _distress for at least a week."  
"Thanks Joy!" Ducking into the restive ward, I ran to her bed and scooped her up, careful of her bare patches.

_"Huh? Wha?" _she gurgled sleepily, one eye half open.

"Sorry to cut your luxury stay short," I panted, shifting things around in the top pocket and resting her gently inside. "But this is an emergency!"

"_Emergency?_" she repeated doubtfully.

"Desperate. A family reunion."  
Fury uttered a hoarse squeak. _'There's more of you!?"_

"Much to my horror, yes." I heaved my pack on again, knees wobbling as I made flustered drunken steps out the sliding doors of the Centre, the trainers entering sparing me a wondering glance. Hurtling through as it shut came the bird, its tail rippling in the morning sunshine and it quickly sank its talons into my shoulder. My steps faltered but I kept the pace for the north track.

"Thought you'd leave without me eh?" he barked insulted, glaring at Fury bobbing in my pack.

"No time!" I panted. "AH HELL!"

My badge! The Goldenrod gymbadge! I glanced painfully at the road and my 'Gear before yelling in frustration.

_15 minutes later_

"All right Whitney, 2 choices. Give me the badge or- well that sums it up, but give me the badge I _won_ _fair and square_, or I kick your arse personally and take it!"

"Topaz!" Glancing over my shoulder, my merry troop had gathered itself, Sumalee tapping her foot with disapproval. "We learn martial arts so that we may never use it."

"You're mean!" sniffled Whitney, recalling a Clefairy fainted beneath Talorn, chortling smugly.

"Three, two-"

"Here!" she shrieked, pouting and throwing it at my head. It brushed my ear landing in the dust. I plucked it up and balled my fist. Recalling Talorn I hastened for the exit but Cal blocked my path.

"Wait for us," he said angrily. I glared back but showing I wasn't going to argue. With clenched teeth, he muttered, "Please?"

"Fine, but I ain't sticking around for you're _victory dance_ I'll be outside," I snapped.

Slipping between him and Marc, ignoring his smirk and cat claws, restraining myself from punching him to. The whiny little gymleaders tantrum had grinded the last of my nerves. Once outside in the air, I leaned my bag against the pastel pink walls. Fury carefully extracted herself to laze on the grass, watching my impatient pacing with concern. I tried some calming breaths, but all I could think of was the disaster of the previous congregation of Soarhire's. Think fire hoses people. Think of disturbing the peace. Think conga line in handcuffs. It made me want to cry. 

Actually, it wasn't the only that that made me want to cry.

"Of for gawd sakes, loosen your grip," I complained my hand ready to shove the bird off.

"Then stop moving so jerkily!" His wings flared for balance as I stopped abruptly but lessened his hold. More punctures in my faded uniform had formed under his claws. Suma wouldn't be a happy chappy.

"Proper introductions are yet to be made," he said with a fluff of his feathers and a clack of his beak. "G'day, I'm Cooee. I'm a hybrid species know to Pokemon as a Shirasharmi, I ain't gonna be referred to as 'bird' or tolerate those bloody contraptions of Pokeballs!"

_"Amen brother!"_ cheered Fury with laughter.

"Yeah, well, Topaz Soarhire, and"

"Don't bother, I know the specifics," he interrupted with a wise and knowing look.

"How?" He fell silent. "Whatever. Look this-"

"Psst!" My head jerked towards the noise, just in time to see a wisp of material vanish behind the corner of the gym. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. Fury pulled herself to her feet with effort but I made a curst stay put motion and started after it.

"Follow her~" she hissed to her new teammate, Cooee. He nodded and whizzed to my side, hovering quietly. I paused to wonder at his immediately loyalty but sped around the corner. The same material disappeared into Whitney's private grove, kept private by cream coloured fencing. Without hesitating I put on a burst of speed, bunching my muscles and letting them spring!

I cleared the fence, but one ankle hooked a rung and my weight toppled over, the full impacted braced by my shoulder. The joints cracked loudly in protest. I grunted and groaned, lying on my back in Whitney's bed of roses. A thin trickle of blood ran down my chin with dirt clods rubbing against my skin.

_Great, half an hour and you're already dirty!_ I thought grimly, the sun dazzling in my squinted eyes.

"Real graceful!" cackled Cooee, talons hooked on the fence peering down.

"Oh you and Fury will get on just fin!" I said sarcastically. Scrambling to my feet, I hobbled through the hedge prying the thorns imbedded in my sleeves and legs. Sweeping the leaves out of my face, I emerged into a well tended garden. A small fountain made a delightful centrepiece trickling with watery laughter surrounded by bright coloured flowers and Pidgeys cooed in the branches of manicured shade trees. 

At the far end was a bench.

On the bench was Jet.

"You certainly know how to make an entry."

"Oh. You." I said blandly. I turned my back ready to leave, but arrogant laughter stopped me. There's only on person allowed to laugh arrogantly in my little world, and that's me. I approached warily, my bodyguard leaping from branch to branch in the trees to my left, crest flicking apprehensively. What do you want?"

"I was going to challenge you," the 19 year old said confidently. 

"What? The conventional method not good enough for you?" Even better another Angel. As the though came to mind I tensed ready to pissbolt in a second. He smiled. "I've been tracking you're career as a trainer, you're doing exceptionally well."

"Howzat? Both Suma and Cal have better belt teams then me. Ashlee Middleton and Adam Purves are way ahead. You saw yesterday, I couldn't control my Pokemon. "I retorted dubiously. Hang on? What, was I stupid? I should be hyping myself up, bloating that ego to its full size. But a second glance at Jet told me it wouldn't work with him. Those eyes held mine unwavering.

"Topaz, look at yourself. How would you describe you're Journey so far?"

"One cataclysm after another!" I cried ardently.

"That's what its all about," he assured me. "Face hardships and overcoming it. Struggling over every hurdle and know there's another one beyond it."

"To much Opera for you." I was bored, about to dismiss him as just another wacko that kept popping up on my journey. He pulled out his Pokedex, small and shiny black open with its light blinking. He offered it to me. I took it watchfully, spinning it around to read.

Alex Luther

"Jet?" I scoffed.

"Has more of a ring to it," he admitted mareepishly. "Keep reading."

Age: 19 Current League: Johto Beginning Pokemon: Charmander

Badges Collected:

I clicked the tab and on the scree flashed the badges he had earned, at least 20 of them. I gasped loudly rasing my eyebrows in amazement. I recognised the eight of the Kanto League, Four of the Orange Crew, a few of the Metone, Palto and Hoeen Leagues.

And he was talking to _me_. He wanted to battle _me. _I spied the tab for caught Pokemon in the top right corner, biting my lip slyly. I could get some insight onto this guys technique.

He saw the look and quickly retrieved it. "But I think we'll have to battle another time."

"What!" I squawked angrily. "I can take you on-"

"No, you're severely handicapped, but I was happy to talk to you."

"Talk is cheap," I protested vigorously, snapping Talons ball from my shirt clips. "Now or never!"

"Hey! What are you doing in my garden!" I whirled to face the furious Whitney, standing in the gap of the hedge and the true entrance. Behind me, I heard the unmistakeably sounds of a getaway, but didn't turn in time. 

"Look what you did to my roses!" Whitney bawled.

I ignored her ranting, staring curiously after Jet, or Alex, or whoever he was.

Realisation dawned.

"Damnit I want my battle!"

"Oh, so now you want to battle?" Marc smirked with arms crossed.

It had slipped my mind

I wailed in despair.

Conga line in handcuffs, here I come….

_  
  
_

*** * * * * * ***

Okay, I'm sure some of my more dedicated readers will note some inconsistencies, mostly the change of story Topaz's last name. I decided mine was way too boring and Soarhire fit her perfectly {Soar-higher}. Also about her history and her change of birth place. I am not a beach person, though I love skiing and other such water sports, but I also wanted to make sure everyone new she's the Pokemon equivalent of Australian, so that's how the Metone League fits in. Again, thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to email me if you've got qualms, queries, or just need some help with you're fiction. Over the time I've been away, so great people have emailed me to help them tweak and give pointers. I gained immense enjoyment from it.

Shirasharmi@hotmail.com

Fictions to Read and Places to Go!

In no Particular Order

**Pokemaster Forums**

**Cyberwraith9**

**Anonymous2003**

**BetterButterBuddha******

**Black Rose******

**Marlix******

**Elements******

**Kenta Macauttum******

**EmeraldDragon******

**E_Eevee******


	13. WoC13

    G'day my fiendish fans! I'm going to tell you a little story, whether you care or not remains to be seen as the beginnings of this chapter were inspired by the landscapes around me. I went on a geography excursion with my class, five days camping out at Giraween National Park to see rock formation and erosion. Riveting. 
     But so I hooked up with my mate Tasha and it was five days worth of hiking up granite. For those who can't recognise granite, its hard, grainy and very graspable, we walked practically vertically 800 meters to the tops of the two towering mountains, along with many other ones. By the second day of this, I found out my class were taking bets whether I would make it to the top of that days challenge. Now I know I'm short, I'm 17 in October and yet people are still surprised when I tell them in high school. So not only did I make it to the top of every days challenge, on time, in that annoying little front group that always sets the pace for everyone else, I made it up the last mountain, jumping from boulder to boulder where only I and three other boys did!! Hahaha! Deprived them of their money out of pure spite!!!!! So it just goes to prove people, pain is fleeting, but glory is forever!!!! 
    Everyone's so supportive of me and my fiction! I look back and I really can't believe it's been 13 chapters and three years of fun. Oh boy, the other day I thought what the heck, I'll reread. Within seconds I thought, Ok, time to rewrite. Yes, I blanched at my old stuff and I wondered why on earth did you people begin to read! So soon, you shall see the new and improved WoC, maybe on my new website!!! Yes! The idiot girl, with the immense help of the masterful AC has picked up her act and tried her hand at it. Also, all of Cooee's actions here are pretty much based on my own little quarrion/weira/cockatiel, Cooee. Yes she can be that irritating but at least I don't have to hear her ruin my comebacks. 
    Now, my thanks go out to most importantly The Elite. These people invited me into their ranks and believe me, do I feel out of place. THEY'RE AMAZING! Read them! They have a combined fiction on here, and I can take no recognition for that although it has my name on it, my final Grade 12 exams were on. 
     WaterViper has recently posted her fiction on here, and I'm addicted to it! I love it! Great fight scenes, and I'm made about actual human martial art scenes that I couldn't really make Topaz, the clumsy girl she is, do. And I like to think I'm rather good at them for anyone who's sat down and read my Tekken fic. 
    Also, Obsidian Blade, another brilliant author I introduced to the Library, and she is as at home as I am. In fact she was voted into the Readers choice awards within 3 days of joining, which proves her brilliance. She's also my proof-reader, being a fast reader and a touch typer I'm lousy at it as you probably know. Go to her Janera site, I order you! 
    Then there's Anonymous 2003, with a brilliant take on a gymleader fiction and actually got me to read a General fiction, 
     Kenta Macauttum, whose persistence was finally recognised and I admire his ability to shoot out a great adventure once a fortnight and lastlyAsh Junior with his cool fiction for those looking for something other then the journey genre but still want OT stuff. Many others have kept pushing me on through all my laziness so mega thanks there to! 
    I guess that's that, onto another chapter of… 

**On the Wings of Council **

**_Through the Looking Glass_**

    I think I have cracked the single greatest mystery I have encountered so far, since I've traversed the Pokèmon world, the hard way. I mean I cannot be considered a rookie I've been on the road for at least three and a half months now. I've had more cuts, bruises and concussions than I have in most my short time on earth and the fact that haven't given up just proves how bloody good I am! I've met people of kindness and people who turn your stomach. I've met trainers, the good, the bad, and Renee; you don't get much worse than that. I've met the best and the better but it is these that have been most confusing. 
    Why every trainer so perfect, appearance wise at least? 
    Why is everyone a teenager aside from the obvious age restrictions of the littlelies? Why are all the blokes tall, dark and handsome, aside from the obvious Marc? Why are all the girls, aside my obvious self, managed to keep their hair clean, acne to a minimum and to me the most baffling, not an overweight person in sight? 
    I'll tell you why, a) they were smart and got themselves dune buggies, although not likely but of course the answer is b) ALL THE FREAK'N WALKING!!! 
    "Air, please, I beg you! I need oxygen!" I gasped struggling at the back of the group. Back. Way back. Halfway down the hill, back. And it was a big hill; in fact we had chosen to climb over huge, bare granite mountains. 
    As always Suma marched religiously at the head of the line so far away I needed binoculars to find her at the crown of the huge granite mountain, flicking her long green rat tail braid over her shoulder as Maverick skittered behind, leaping into the air and trying to nab it like an insect buzzing overhead. He weaved in and out of her feet in that blithe and irrepressible Totodile way. 
    Further back was Marc, till trumping at her heels like a terrier. My only consolation was that he was sweating buckets because he refused to wipe it off on his leather jacket. Vain little boy that he was, I was surprised he still kept his giggling Pichu clinging to it and scrambling across him like a playground. And then, dutifully keeping our sprawled little gang linked was Cal, out of pity for the out of shape, sweat soaked midget who had only the day before urged a cracking pace with desperation. He kept massaging his scalp where his daggy sky blue hair had been, now cropped neatly above his shoulders, looking like he'd lost his best mate. 
    "Stop wasting your air, human," rebuked Cooee from my shoulder. "You're flabby, that's your problem." 
    ****_"And stop jostling, something in here keeps jabbing my-"_
    "I don't- want- to know," I choked out, cutting Fury off abruptly before I got a visual in my head. Dropping to one knee to grip a rock jutting out to keep me from rolling to the bottom. "And stop- complaining until- you carry- me!" 
    Trying to catch my breath and ignoring their the whining and insults abusing each ear, I screwed it all shut, trying to wish it all away, that I had never heard that phone call and I was instead winning the famous Goldenrod Bug Catching Contest I had missed out on in my haste to get out of town. 
    _Take the scenic route, she sez! It's the same distance as the dirt road, she sez! Of course she doesn't mention anything about it being-_ "Bloody vertical!" I yelled aloud, running my hand through my hair and disregarding the dust particles wafting through the miserably bright sun that sifted through the western clouds. Believe me, people, a trainer –a _normal_ trainer- is never happy about the weather. Allow me to recount the first few days of my journey with Sumalee. 
    "What a gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky!" 
    "Pfft, that means it's gonna be blistering." 
    "Today we have cloud cover, should be pleasant walking with that nice breeze." 
    "What are you babbling about? That breeze will pick up, and it'll blow my hair in my face." 
    "Okay, no breeze, no sun, looks like rain- can you complain about that?!" 
    "Rain? Need I say more except we're gonna be soaked through before our tents are up!" 
    Needless to say she had lost part of her enthusiasm for travelling with me very shortly. 
    "What was that, Tez?" From behind another granite crag ahead Cal's lopsided smile poked out. His cheeks puffed a rosy red as he shifted his pack. I lifted my hand in a shaky thumbs up but let it drop quickly in exhaustion. His expression turned worried and began a shuffling descent down towards me. "Is it your headache, do you want me to take Fury?" 
    "Stop- being such a door-mat," I grunted as I stood up and pushed myself on determined. My legs burned with their constant pumping, my single purpose so gravity wouldn't vindictively dump me at the bottom again and laugh. 
    In a rush I lumbered past Cal to keep the momentum running but he took it as a challenge and buzzed to the front again. Oh this was way too much! 
    "So this is what it's like being caught," sniffed Cooee unimpressed. He stretched his prettily coloured wings and beat them rapidly with a_ whuh-whuh-whuh_ sound as the primary feathers repeatedly clipped my ear. To be more irritating he tight-roped across my shoulders and yawned. 
    "Keep it up and your- on your own!" I swatted at his head and he snapped back with beak wide and a menacing hiss. "I can make you fly on your own! In fact-" I flapped my arm setting my suspenders and chain jangling, but Cooee stayed stubbornly put, and glared with his beady red eye. 
    "Shove off," I grumbled breathlessly. Luckily the bare stone was levelling out. With effort I tore my gaze from my stiff new sneakers, causing me hell might I add, to tilt my head towards the summit of the laccolith. Suma's silhouette perched on a balancing ball boulder drinking thirstily from her canteen with the dull orange disk of the sun sinking lower at about 4 O'clock. The top looked safe and inviting, flat with a pair of umbrella trees wedged in the boulders, sheltering some of the wind that would lash tonight. How they had managed to bury their roots into it was beyond me but there they were thriving. 
    I moaned hopelessly at the impossible task I had set myself. As soon as the sun vanished it meant I had three days left to reach my grandmother's property for an event that terrorised and traumatised me every four years, the Soarhire family reunion. 
    Eventually I collapsed at the top, panting like a locomotive. I lifted Fury carefully from my pack, mindful of her burns and bald patches, one in particular on her neck that looked remarkably like a paw print. Dragging myself to the sunny side of the boulder I gulped almost half my canteen in one sitting before offering to Fury as she lapped from my hand just as eagerly. 
    "Hot huh?" 
    _"You could say that,"_ she sad languidly, stretching her body over my knees and sparking a pale flame on the nape of her neck. I laughed and smoothed my still wet hand over her muzzle playfully. She nipped at it lazily but before long she was napping in the midafternoon sun. I smiled; a Journey really wasn't so bad. Three months had flown by before I had realised. It felt like only a week ago I had first laid eyes on the cowering Cyndaquil. After seeing her in action so many times it was hard to believe they were the same Pokèmon. 
    Peeling myself from beneath the drowsing Quilava, I grabbed my canteen and stumbled, still a little wobbly from the death march, to lounge over the lower branch Cooee had chosen to roost. When I offered some water he scooped it gratefully from the lid, and I flecked some across his feathers. He shot me an irksome glance and once again began his meticulous preening, mumbling, "Useless trainer!" 
    Stretching my arms above my head, I surveyed the wilderness around me. Rugged mountains clothed at their bases in oak and conifer trees before reaching their bare pinnacles to the sky, with cracks and crevices and balancing boulders everywhere. To the west was the sandy scar of the main road to Ecruteak. 
    The thought of Nana restarted my time fuse and I quickly rebundled my pack shifting things around so that my bike, Fury's culprit, was flattened at the bottom. I looked at it disdainfully wondering if I could sell it to some rookie trainer as I didn't have enough money to buy a private storage unit in the PC. 
    "Okay Snorlax, get in." 
    _"What?"_ she slurred. _"I just got out. I have to stretch."_
    "Like you were planning to anyway. I'll give you a few minutes." 
    I hoisted my bag up, the shoulder straps straining, and teetered to the opposite side of the plateau, preparing for the long downward trek. I craned my neck peering over the edge. 
    "My dear-What the-Oh my- AHHHHH!" I screamed brokenly and tripping over my tongue as I almost swallowed it. If that side was vertical, this one was upside down. It was like a giant deluge had carved itself a smooth cresting wave into the side of the escarpment, almost glassy. I whirled to face Suma who knelt next to Fireline doing her usual routine, amateur check up on her front paw. In fact, all three had spared me curious glances. 
    "How are we meant to get down here?" I demanded feeling sick. That tiny pinprick of heat perched between my eyes, spreading its wings from temple to temple and making it extremely dangerous to be this close to an 800 metre drop. 
    Sumalee looked up innocently, running her hand over the feline's rusty red and yellow coat. "We don't. I told you this was a scenic route that curves back around to the Ecruteak Road." 
    "Oh my gawd," I smothered into my hand. That nausea was growing more intense. I sucked in a slow breath and said softly with my teeth gritted into a ridiculous stretched grin, puncturing each word I said with a sharp saluting like gesture. "What part of _deadline_ don't you understand?" 
    "Look, Tez," Marc stood up from where he crouched under the shadow of the boulder, striding over. His use of my nickname piqued me even more. "It's not like it's a life and death situation." 
    "That's what you don't get- IT IS!!!" I shouted grabbing him by the collar and yanking me down to my height. "If I'm not there in three days, my nana will have a heart attack. And I mean literally give herself a heart attack. This sweet old lady can take guilt to a whole new level you never dreamed!!! Sooo-" I let go and dropped my bag, ushering Fury inside and held my forearm up for Cooee to take the hint, landing with a whir of wings. "I'm buggering off. Do what you want, I'll meet you on the main road." 
    "No way! The main trainer track to you grandmothers is 20 k's away. You'll never make it to the Trainer Landing my dark," Sumalee objected strongly. 
    "So, I'll camp out." 
    "In the forest?" 
    "I'm not afraid." 
    "Damn right!" Cal chipped in hotly. "You're stupid!" 
    I ignored their protests, unclipping a Pokèball and hurling it as far from the escarpments smooth face as possible. In the twinkling red beam formed a majestic Pidgeot, invoking more clamouring voices. Her empty Pokèball returned to my hand as Talorn tilted her tail and curved in to land on the plateau beside me. I ran my hand through her crest, issuing commands. "Talorn, carry my pack into that, is that a clearing? Yeah, clearing. Careful, Fury is inside. Than come back for me. Cooee, follow them and make sure nothing goes for Fury while Talorn is at it." 
    Talorn analysed the angle and the wind speed, looking at me critically. _"I won't be able to carry your weight-"_ Marc gave a burst of laughter. 
    _"- straight from this table. The wind would carry me straight into the rock face, child."_
    I paused thoughtfully. "Than we'll do what we practiced." 
    _"Than not a problem, darling,"_ she cooed, her beak managing a devilish grin. She cast a cool glance at the pinched and tense faces, clutching my grubby red bag in her talons and launched into the air. Fury's terrified head poked out of the swinging pack, ears slicked against her head with a flare of harmless fire each time Talorn 'lost' her grip on a strap as Cooee darted in dizzying circles around her. I clucked my tongue, telling myself to reprimand both Pokèmon later, but it was pretty bloody funny. 
    The trio vanished into the shadows of the clearing and after a moment or two Talorn floated up on a thermal in slow leisurely circles. 
    I called out across the valley, spreading my arms in the imitation of wings with hands raised like stop signs. Her keen eyes caught the signal and loosed a shrill "Pi-_eohhhh_!" in reply, speeding towards me. I let my arms drop and instead of moving closer to the rim, I padded away from it, breathing in and out with my eyes closed. I could feel the others staring curiously as I shook myself. Talorn voice carried on a zephyr of wind and I steadied myself against the boulder centrepiece, and met my travelling companion's eyes, letting a slow, sly grin spread over my face. 
    "What's she doing-" 
    "I don't like that look, she has it every time-" 
    "-she has something up her sleeves!" 
    Without warning I loosed a trilling "Ki-ah!" and lunged my body forward. I dashed headlong across the flat, grainy surface, trying to pick up every bit of speed I could. The drop off loomed before me but I forced myself to keep going. The alternative was the momentum would carry me over too close to the smooth curling wave for Talorn to do anything. Gasps of realisation and astonishment swayed my concentration for an instant but I angrily focused. I stretched my stride, curling my toes over the edge and pushed off into the air with all my strength. 
    The ferocious winds of the altitude buffeted my body so hard it was like being crushed on either side by football players in a scrum. My lungs were squeezed empty, stunning me for a second and almost blacking out which had never been anticipated during our test flights. It left my body flapping like a rag doll. I sucked in a successful breath and as the ground's detail grew by the moment I frantically stretched my body spread-eagled. My hair lashed my face as it whipped like Medusa's tresses, clouding my face and almost swallowing it. 
    _"Pidgeot-ot-ot-ot-ot!" _
    Whooosh! 
    A thick mass of feathers cushioned my fall with such relief that my arms automatically formed a tight noose around Talorn's neck. She uttered a hoarse squawk as she bucked at my landing and pulled out of the dive on a swift rising thermal. 
    With a sheepish chuckle wrenched from my mouth by the wind, I relaxed my grip and ran one hand through my hair and fixed the shoulders of my uniform for modesty's sake. I twisted my head to look up and three chalky faces poked out over the edge. 
    _Serves 'em right! _I thought wickedly and motioned for Talorn to make for the drop off. She cawed and sheered left, adjusting to the descent. 
    My stomach returned to its rightful place as we landed, cutting a little to close to the upper branches for my liking but what did I know? Talorn crowed confidently, allowing me to slide off her neck and strut to where she had deposited Fury. Even I had to laugh. 
    The bag swung precariously on a branch tilting almost to the point where its contents were going to spill. Fury herself was on its lip gathering the courage to spring to the ground. When she saw me she woofed, snuggling back in comfortably and expectantly. 
    _"I thought she'd be safer up there," _Talorn said innocently. 
    _"My arse!"_ Fury declared, leaning out. The Pidgeot grinned craftily. Perching on my tiptoes I brought her down and pulled it onto my back, trying to fit the contours into my back despite Fury's ooh's and ahh's as the equipment shuffled under her. Ready to go, I thanked Talorn and recalled her, even as she and Fury argued and insulted each other playfully. 
    _"Stuffed doduo!"_ she shot back as she vanished. 
    Ready to push off I suddenly noticed I was one abrasive voice less. _Hell_, I thought looking around nervously, I no longer had the Shirasharmi's Pokèball so he could have very easily flew for the clear blue yonder without a care in the world. 
    "Cooee?" I asked the clearing uncertainly. No answer. I frowned, firming myself and called more sternly. "Cooee!" 
    Still no answer. Why? 
    _He'll come back_ I reasoned. That's what being a trainer was all about. When I caught him I proved that my team and I had out trained, out witted and that he could learn something when under my care. That working together could ultimately give him experience he couldn't gain in the wild. I had proved myself worth of being his trainer. 
    I stopped, what I had stumbled on dawning on me. Is that what I had done wrong with Chilun? My mind trailed back to the Route 32 bushfire. Fury and I had saved the trapped herd and that had earned the dominant Articolt's gratitude. He allowed me to choose from his herd and I had chosen Chilun. I had simply plucked him out with no challenge, no chance to battle for supremacy. In my head I went over our battle together. Sure, he had won battles, but there was never a time he had been the out and out winner with no other Pokèmon to contend with. No, wait. There was the time I had battled Moon in Azalea, but did that count? He hadn't listened to a word I said and maybe that had triggered his feelings of my inadequacy. In fact, I had accentuated these feelings every time I released him with contempt, even mild fear and hostility. 
    "My gawd, what have I done?" I mumbled aloud, feeling useless and inept at everything I had thought I had accomplished. I thought I was empathetic with my team, but what did I know? 
    "What are you talking about?" I was aroused from my pitiful state of mind by a harsh squawk. Skimming across the clearing came Cooee, swooping up and digging his talon into my shoulder. I realised the day I had retrieved him I would have permanent scabs where they perched. 
    "Coo!" I exclaimed brightly, glad to be yanked from that wallowing and heart delving business, too wussy for me to dwell on for any length of time. "Jeeze, ya had me worried!" 
    "I did?" he said, pleased. "Saw the stunt ya pulled! Never thought I'd see the day, a flying human! Flew like a stone ya did!" 
    "Thanks, I guess," I said dryly. 
    "Anyhows, I wassa scout'n I think that instead of going East, why not cut South East. You'll meet the road later but it means you won't haveta sidetrack ta find the bridge cross'n Reed River that passes between here and the mountains." 
    "Ahh, bit of a geographer, are we?" I asked hopefully. Face it, I couldn't find my way around my sock draw at home. 
    "Pah!! I know this place for yonks around, better than those maps!" he scoffed, eyeing my PokèGear with scorn. He grinned cockily pointing with an outstretched wing. "Onward steed!" 
    "Yada yada." 

    "Are you sure we're going the right way?" Twilight came to the forest much earlier than the rest of the world. Long blue shadows stalked either side with eerie rattles, crackles and low moaning. I kept trying to convince myself it was simply the Furrets and the Spearow settling in for the night but it didn't stop the nervous chatter of my teeth, which I covered up with remarks of how chilly it was. Luckily my trainer uniform lent credibility to the alibi. Draughts breathed in and around the upper branches, shaking and loosing leaves and twigs that would catch more on the way down. Almost twice already the minor avalanches had dislodged a larger dead skeletal limb that had given all of us a hell of a scare as they crashed. 
    As a child I had loved forests and any prospect of climbing trees but now that they were becoming a part of everyday life they were incredibly spooky and suffocating. I could have sworn they were reaching for me. 
    "Nup," Cooee, answered eventually after peering all around with his beady red eyes. 
    "Wha?!" I halted and turned a scalding eye on him. "I thought you knew this place!" 
    "Hey, I mean a birds eye view, it's a whole new world beneath the canopy, but I think you've been veering in towards north, I can't be sure though." 
    I groaned, massaging my temples. "Okay, okay, why don't you go up and see where you are." 
    "Why me?" he countered defensively. 
    "Fine!" I snapped. I eased my bag against a trunk, making sure I didn't wake Fury curled inside. She only twitched and went back to her snorting slumber. I glided from tree to tree, checking each until I found one with sturdy, well spaced upper branches. The only dilemma was my first branch was a bit of a stretch. With a running jump I wrapped my arms around it, my legs hanging like a sloth. With a bit of effort I hauled myself right way up and from there it was no worries, weaving in and out like I was made of elastic until I poked through the thick blanket of leaves. 
    "ARG! My eyes!" The sun was obviously still out in all her glory, and I only just stopped myself from shielding my eyes with both hands. I slowly eased one lid, adjusting to the glare on the western horizon and then the other. The spots frisking around the sun faded and I gazed up at the deepening sky. Long wisps of cloud like combed cotton balls journeyed east. I thought sulkily to myself how I wished I could amble along that slowly, but if wishes were horses then beggars would ride, as they say, and a forest was no place for Chilun. 
    I surveyed the land in all directions, fixing on the escarpment and orientated myself from there. 
    "Okay, if the cliff is there, and the sun is there, west. I'm my oath I'm dead south! No, wait, yeah I am! I think?" 
    This wasn't getting me anywhere. I contemplated how I really should have taken those pre-journey orienteering classes but I figured my Pokegear would do all the work for me. How wrong I was. Setting into a skinny and not particularly stable fork, I chewed my lip and tapped the buttons on my 'Gear to activate the GPS signal and maybe work from there. Instead it only blipped in distress. "Out of range! No signal found!" 
    I slapped the lid down in frustration but the polite click gave me no satisfaction at all. So not fair. Grumbling I tried to make my brain work manually but I was just not made for directions. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a pale blotch against the indigo sky. I shifted carefully on the wobbly branch focusing and gave a yip of excitement. 
    "I got smoke!" I called down to Cooee. "Must be trainers! They'll get us on the right track!" 
    The bird called back cynically. "As far out as they are, how do you know they aren't lost too?" 
    I shrivelled my nose in annoyance. Scepticism was my job. "Ahh shuddup! Them or nothing!" 
    Keeping an eye on the puffs curling upward I riveted my minds eye on which way it was and shimmied down with little difficulty. 
    "Okay, that way!" I beamed. Fury's head nosed out drowsily as I eased it back onto my shoulders. 
    _"Are we making camp soon? You sure look stuffed,"_ she asked with groggy concern. 
    "I am and we will. There's some trainers camping out that way and we'll see if we can hook up with them. Even someone as legendary as myself isn't keen on being alone in the dark in Sleepy Hollow. Who knows what axe-murderers are hanging around?!" 
    "What?" Cooee smirked. "I reckon me and the cripple can take on one pathetic axe-murderer!" 
    _"Who are you calling cripple!"_ Fury goaded, sitting upright in the back and unbalancing me just enough to stumble over a buttressing root. Recovering with wind-milling arms so I didn't hit the leaf litter I trekked on. 
    _"Haha! I could take you down! Right here, right now!"_
    "Bring it on, Fluffy!" 
    _"Yeah, well, you're a duel type! Flying and whatever! I'm pure fire so I have half the weaknesses!" _Fury gloated loudly. 
    "But also half the strengths!" Cooee contradicted from my shoulder, digging his talons in every time he made a point, no matter how many times I threatened him to be stop or be plucked of every feather he held dear. It was an empty threat of course. I hadn't forgotten what happened to Professor Oak's lab after he did precisely that. 
    I stopped suddenly making Cooee flare his wings for balance. _"Shhh_ guys." 
    They hushed, Fury brightening her guiding flame curiously. I cocked my head, trying to hear above the night noises, which was no picnic. Not one Hoothoot had shut up and the wild Girafarig brayed long and loud and as far as I knew they weren't even nocturnal. Then I caught it. Faint human laughter. 
    "Bonza! Now be quiet or we'll scare 'em half to death before we even get into the light." Both obliged and Fury dimmed her flames just enough to step forward. Edging carefully through the dark I could make out the golden firelight melting through the almost perfect dark. 
    I rubbed my bare arms. "Eee! Warmth!" 
    Creeping right up to the grove the trainers had made I ducked beneath a bush to organise what I was gonna say. I didn't want to look like a beggar or a wimpy girl afraid of the dark, or a braggart demanding they share. Trainers are very touchy that way, I knew. Marc himself had waltzed into our camp from outside the ring of luminance and made me screech and lunge for a stick before I knew what was happening. Then he had perched on my seat in my place. Not good. 
    After a minute I had my greeting prepared, the words ringing confident yet humble to my ears and I stood up with a warm expression. Almost instantly I threw myself down again, grabbing Fury's and Cooee's mouth shut muffling their greeting. Tight lipped I let the flickering reflection of the fires in my eyes pleading them to keep deadly silent. Thanking heavens they did. 
    In the nanosecond I had been visible I glimpsed the trainers. 
    Tobias. 
    Angel. 
    Desperately I tied to calm my shaking hands from rattling the thorn bush I hid behind. Fortunately both backs had been towards me and both sported new Rocket uniforms so I almost didn't believe it was them. Tobias's was a black Chinese mandarin shirt missing the sleeves with red piping, red sash around his waist and red trews tucked into black shin high boots. Angel a little more intelligent, a dark burgundy dress shirt and black cuffs beneath an identical mandarin shirt and burgundy trews over his own black boots. Neither was emblazoned with the glaring red R normally adorning their uniforms. 
    The first was a tall boy with a thick red hair framing his face and three jagged scars scoring his cheek, a parting gift from Fury's claws in one of our first encounters, and smouldering green eyes. The second was only a notch shorter, with a shock of soft white hair just below his ears, veiling one eye like a chip of ice. Together they laughed, chewing on stewed meat and crowing about their exploits. 
    I swallowed thickly, biting down on my knuckle and forcing myself to keep calm. The excitement, aggravation and exhaustion of the day bowled me over. My eyes flickered over the forest around me and from their voices I tried to guess which way they were looking. On all fours, I backed away out of the light and into the shadows, my eyes not leaving the crowns of their heads that jutted above the bush. The weight of my pack like an alchemist's trick had magically transformed into lead pressed me deeper into the leaf litter, crackling like fireworks in my ears. I couldn't understand why both hadn't shot up with Pokèballs poised and faces full of malice, bathed in the before warm now harsh glow of the flames. Tobias's voice rose in glee above the crunching foliage, cutting through my chest with a strangled gasp. 
    _Be calm, be calm. Calm! Calm! Calm!_ I chanted inside my head almost musically. Finally after yonks I pulled my bony knee, imbedded with twigs, to my chest, hugging them behind a tree and safe from sight. 
    A noise broke me from my shallow breaths, growing. Almost panicking I looked for its source and gasped. It came from Fury who had shrugged herself out of the bag and lumbered towards them, slouching heavily to one side, her maw pulled back into a growling snarl of teeth, flames igniting in showering sparks. I mouthed frantic curses, rocking back on my heels and heedless to her burns and scooped both arms around her stomach, reeling her in. Her stomach muscles pulled taunt with a pained yelp as I cushioned her back inside. 
    Then, behind me, the conversation froze as Tobias rose to his feet. 
    "Wait, man, I hear something." My throat knotted, pressing against the tree trunk with a hand on Fury's muzzle. She struggled half-heartedly until I bopped her over the nose warningly. Tobias squinted into the shadows; I could practically see his ears twitch. In desperation I used an old trick reserved for when I used to play spotlight with the Jess, Jazz and Matt. Who'da guessed it'd be so vital!!! 
    Blindly I groped through the leaf litter, deathly aware of each snapping twig and crackling leaf. Digging in my hand finally brushed a loose stone, caked with dirt. Grasping it my right hand, I twisted peeking around the trunk. 
    Tobias! He was staring right at me! 
    No, wait, He wasn't, his gaze saw through, sweeping the tree line, back and forth and if I so much as twitched the movement would catch his eye. With my arm still hidden behind the tree, I flung it haphazardly into the forest away from me. It bounced off with a wooden crack and Tobias followed it like a homing beacon, stalking to the other side, kicking up the fiery embers in his path. 
    "Sucker!" I snickered under my breath. With both boys distracted, Angel scorning and sneering to his hearts content, I eased backwards, winking at Fury. Fury looked away sourly. Meh, I didn't have time for her little tantrum. A glance into the higher branches reassured me Cooee was tucked away safely, hopping above the canopy with his bright ruby eyes glaring down at them with such malice it turned my heart. 
     Swallowing hard I rubbed away my palms' nervous sweat on my shorts legs, wondering what the hell we could do. Then I realised there was only one thing we could do. I pissbolted. Skittering away and stooped low like Quasimodo the hunchback. To my horror my glove chains jangled softly, and there was now way the metallic clicks could be considered natural. 
    "Scream Fury!" I hissed, rounded the girth of a tree trunk with her scrambling in beside me. Behind Tobias flared at Angel for doubting him and his heavy footfalls pounded the leaves as he bounded over the log being used as a seat. 
    Fury hesitated quizzically but sucked in a gulp of air, she shrieked, numbing my ears even though my hands were cupped over the top. It yowled and whined like a woman being strangled, punctured with burst of guttural barks and moans. Her performance peaked with a high pitched scream and it severed abruptly. After the godless sound evaporated in the chilly night air, only the silence remained. 
    Tobias had ceased to follow. 
    Smiling in the dark with such intense relief, I pictured them both. Tobias frozen halfway trading alarmed looks with Angel, standing with his back to the fire searching the tree line for an easy to reach weapon, the jeering expression melting away. Stifling the euphoric laughter threatening to burst out, I plonked down on the ground with my hands stuffed in my mouth as if physically trying to cram it back in. When I finally had the fit under control still grinning like an Electrode I lifted Fury out and tugged my sleeping bag, unfurling it with a flap and laying it flat. 
    _"Don't you think we're too close for comfort?" _she asked cautiously, watching the way we came as she weaved in and out of my legs like a cat. 
    "I don't think either of those thugs will want to investigate too closely," I giggled, hunching over the stores pocket. "Beside, I'm wiped. I wouldn't have had the energy to cook something even if I wasn't safe. How do you feel about those left over snags?" I plucked out a container packed tightly with Sumalee's sausages from the night before. 
    _"Yeah, well, I consider it a blessing in disguise,"_ she smirked, with one paw over the lip inspecting them. 
    "Hey!" I protested, swatting her ears. 
    _"Grrrrrrr."_
    I looked quizzically down at my bare paunch, leaning the bag against the tree. "Jeeze! Hungrier than I thought! What da, ya think Coo'll want?" 
    I laughed, digging deeper to find something more filling in the flickering of Fury's flame, which really wasn't doing any good. I guess the problem of having your life in a backpack is that the things you want are always at the bottom. Suddenly Fury's crest loosed a flurry of hot white sparks coupled with a low and menacing growl. I squeaked sharply, batting out the tiny embers stinging my skin. 
    "Ow! Ow! Ow! Fury! Waszat for?" 
    _"Turn around slowly Topaz,"_ she growled warningly. Oh boy, that tone was never good. With baby steps I twisted the other way to …. 
    "Apollo! How did you get out of your Pokèball?" I ruffled his ears and neck, running my fingers over the fine, sandpaper textured skull mounting his head, the dark hollows of the eye sockets were chipped and deep. I waited for his stumpy tail to wag deliriously. A thick rumble resonated from his throat and his eyes narrowed into thin steel grey sickles. Ever so gradually I withdrew my hand and strayed for my compressed Pokèballs clipped to the back of my belt. My fingers alighted on Aria's perfectly smooth Pokèball, but the impostor Apollo's hackles rose, his legs shifting weight and sinking lower to the ground and his head tilted. I ran my tongue along my teeth, venturing closer to the release button but the second my pointer twitched the devil canine snarled, hellish crimson embers blossoming within his throat. 
    _"I can take him."_ Fury slide protectively between us, her right shoulder drooping heavily but she tensed for battle. 
    _"What was that slave?"_ I flinched as my earring translated the gruff words. _"Your master beat you? Serves you right for such vassalage!"_ he scorned, his chops grinning revealing a set of gleaming yellowed teeth. From the shrubs behind the Houndour emerged a fully matured Houndoom. Silver skull, horns and ribs glowed faintly through the brindled shadows and moonlight that made it through the canopy. Sinewy muscles were pulled taunt over its peppered grey fur. Its dirty mangy fur was curled and cowlicked with clods of dirt and patches missing revealing leathery skin. 
    "Bugger that Fury, and bugger you!" I retorted, defiantly. "There's six of my Pokèmon verse you two. Do the maths if it gets through those thick skulls!" 
    The Houndoom smirked dryly, if a little disturbed that I could understand. _"Is that what you think human? What if I lunged now? What if my jaws crushed your neck before you could so much as whimper? What if I leapt and snapped every rib in your chest as I pinned you to the ground? What……if?"_
    "Don't you say that!" Fury shrieked, belting out spiralling comets of flame illuminating the night in red and gold. The Houndoom and Houndour sprawled themselves over the ground, letting the whining meteors pass over head and explode in cinders against the trunk of a tree leaving a smouldering curlicue of smoke and singed bark. 
    _"D-ooom_!" He was livid! His teeth gnashed and his tail thrashed its arrow head as it a bright finger of flame blazed like a candle wick. The Houndour that had listened in silence darted to his aid, pawing through the dead leaves until he had gouged a bowl of moist soil. He uttered a sharp bark and the elder; eyes wide in pain and panic thrust the end in and suffocated the fire with a hiss. Without hesitation he whirled to face us, and sprang at Fury. 
    Joy's orders flitted through my head. I didn't falter, I threw my body over the top of my huddled Pokèmon and with all my weight, a mere 40 kg's as compared to the Houndoom's baulk of 55 kg', my shoulder rammed his flank, wrapping my arms around his belly and my face pressed into his grey bristling fur, practically blind in the flash of the attack. Multicoloured spots etched into my pupils zipped across my vision. Our bodies twined and crashed, rolling over the forest floor in yelps and yells. 
    Through the corner of my eye the young Houndour whined and barked, _"What- uhrur- what do I do?"_ His hind legs looked like they wanted to break and run, twisting hither and thither but his front legs dug in firmly grinding his silver nails into the leaves. 
    Houndoom ignored the pup; he was intent on the girl clinging around his waist. Every muscle rippled as he writhed beneath me, my hands continually clenched fistfuls of fur muscle to keep a hold. 
    _He who takes the Raikou by the tail dare not let go,_ I though feverishly with grating laughter. 
    "Run Fury!" I choked out. She shook her head violently, her voice stuck but just like the Houndour had no idea what to do. She couldn't attack for fear of hitting me but didn't, wouldn't, flee. 
    All of a sudden Houndoom bucked ferociously beneath my body and my grip weakened. He wheeled with jaws bared, sheering the meat above my knee. I squealed in pain and my hands, which hand clasped each other in a monkey grip around his neck lost each other and I was flung wide, crashing and rolling with damp leaves sticking to my bared skin. In an instant he pounced, landing with his hind paws driving the air from my stomach. In reflex I tried to curl into the foetal position but his rubbery paws propelled my shoulders into the leaves, sharp claws burying in. 
    _"YOU'RE MINE HUMAN!"_ he sneered, his hot pungent breath blowing on my neck. 
    I sobbed breathlessly like a trapped Nidoran, jerking my knees through his splayed hindquarters and kicked. 
    With a strangled yelp I lifted him off the ground and catapulted him into a trunk whistling for air. It was our chance! I scrambled on to all fours for Fury, gathering her up and spun in a dizzy circle. There! The only tree I could reach was a spindly pine, bending from side to side in the wind. Even before I left Kyeema I hated pine trees, skinny little branches that tricked you how much weight they could actually support and much too close together. I had no choice, to go for a stronger jacaranda tree decked in violet trumpet flowers would mean having to jump up and down like a jack in the box for ten minutes for me to reach the first branch, and I doubt the Houndoom would be the gentleman and help me up. 
    The Houndour bounded in front to block my path but with a savage kick in his direction he kept his distance, just enough time for me to swing into the bottom branch and claw out of reach, weaving between the too close branches made even more difficult with a little lump hugging my chest. Her neck nestled in close to mine with little whimpering noises. Jeeze, she was as scared as I was and I was still trying to suck in gasps of air. 
    _"NO!" _howled the 'Doom in a rage. He lashed with silvery claws across the tree carving huge gashes into the slender trunk, oozing sap from the X mark. He circled round and round screaming threats. 
    "Sorry mate, looks like you're barking up the wrong tree!" I taunted with shrill laughter. Fury only curled deeper into my lap as I wedged between two flimsy branches. The laughter suddenly choked in my throat as the Houndoom threw his head back and spewed thick red flames around the base. Well, that killed the laughter. "Oh, hell." 
    Turning my head all around the plumes of heat billowed around us bringing with them the thick and sickening fumes. I hacked and coughed, trying to sift out the smoke through the neck of my shirt but my body still wracked itself stupid. Fury, undeterred from the flames sank her claws in and wound her way into her own fork just above my head. 
    "Stay there!" I rasped, blinking away the tears swimming in my eyes. The flames reached higher, and if I didn't do what I had in mind in seconds, it would be too late and we'd have to take the more dangerous route of escape. With the straps of my shirt stuck behind my ears to free my hands, I wriggled my way through the slim branches until I would I was practically engulfed in red and gold. The heat was unbearable but bear it I had to. The Hounds circled closer, gnashing their teeth so close I could see the spittle dripping from their yellowed fangs. 
    "One, two, three," tucking my hair into the back of my shirt I counted quickly to myself, building myself up and on three with my knees wrapped around a branch and one hand digging into the rough bark, I swung down. I groped blindly through the branches, the flames searing my skin and sweat dribbling in runnels down my face my open palm wrapped around three of the lower branches already smoking curling in the heat and snapped them away, tossing them into the fire below. Pulling myself up I repeated the act on the other side and worked my way up so that there wasn't a single low branch to catch alight and assist the tongues upward climb. Fury and I were stranded in the uppermost branches, and I hoped to hell that my harebrained scheme worked. 
    When camping my dad always instructed me to find gum and silky oak for the campfire, because pine always ate straight through and fizzled out because of the resins in the bark. And, because it smoked something terrible. Now I hacked and wheezed, folding double layers of my shirt and stretching it to my face. I could practically hear my flesh roasting, and the disturbing thing was that to a hungry stomach, I didn't smell all that bad. 
    But it was working! 
    Around and around the flames swirled, scaling no further up the tree and simply gnawing the same chunk of wood. The pine rocked and groaned as its base was eaten away and its crown cracking under the shuddering body coughing like mad. 
    A sudden fracturing sound travelled through the trunk. 
    Now or never. 
    I lifted Fury's body close and prepared to jump, the only problem was trying to judge which way the tree would fall. No time, the high pitched whine of the wood giving in rose above the sizzling flames. Clambering out to the edge of our branch, it snapped and dumped up both as the pine toppled beneath us. 
    I shrieked! Although we weren't far up it felt so, my ankles crumpling as the shockwave of landing travelled up my calved like a bolt of lightning and fell onto one knee panting heavily and wiping away the sweat. 
    "WAH-ROOOW!" 
     I sobbed into my chest for air but gathered Fury into my arms, scrambling on all fours before staggering to my feet and pissbolted. Trees sprung up into my vision inches from my face with only split seconds to dodge them. My ankles rocked in and out over the buttressing root as if ablaze themselves, leaving the dying fire behind us and even with our lives in peril the lesson's drilled into me over and over as a kid about bushfires made me want to turn and stamp them out. I felt them falter, I felt my knees grind and I felt the blood slick down my shins. 
    "WAH-ROO-OW-ROW!" I skidded over the leaves as the baleful howl set the silent woods in flight. My translator crackled in my ears as it relayed in broken bursts, "Get her!… Human girl!… Kill!" 
    _They can't be talking about me! _My crazy head tried to reason, but faintly over the stale air more canine voices replied angrily. 
    As more and more voices joined the choir of malevolence, Fury tried to wretch from my arms, but I bundled her tighter. 
    _"We can't out run them!"_ she argued obstinately as I pushed myself off the ground after falling into an exhausted heap. I couldn't stop. They were getting closer but my harsh breathing roared him my ears, begging for a moment's rest. 
    "Well we can't bloody fight 'em, you 'specially," I panted looking mistrustfully at the shadows. My head ran through my team and not one of them had full advantage over the Fire/Dark types. Talorn, Miasma, Target, Aria and… Cooee! Where was that bird?!!! 
    Over the beating of my heart and ragged breath I heard nothing. I _ummed_ and _ahhed_ over what I could possibly do, when abruptly I no longer had a choice. A sharp clenching of teeth and Fury screamed from my arms. A thick barrage of golden stars spurted from her mouth, pummelling a leaping Houndour in midair, fainting before it hit the ground. Behind him from the darkness, glowing red eyes approached more cautiously. 
    _"RUN!"_ Fury bleated, her head crest leaping up and scathing my ear. 
    "Well duh!" I automatically retorted. _Great,_ I rapped out as I belted off again, pushing off a tree trunk and jumping a fallen branch. _Sarcasm part of your brain is in full throttle and everything else just freezes on you!_ To which another voice snapped back, _shut up and run!_
    My legs burned, my arms ached and my lungs screamed. I was so not a long distance runner, and I was just so tired! I swallowed thickly, a tear trickling over my cheek as my sobbing breath jerked in and out. I strained to hear anything over it. My peripheral vision scoured everything left and right but only just avoiding the thick branches that stuck out in front of me. 
    There! 
    On my right side was the noiseless orange bobbing blob, the chest markings of the pack. Then on my left I spied another in tandem. They were herding me! As if I was some sort of stupid cow! Fear stabbed my heart and instinctively adrenaline gave me a burst of energy. 
    "Oh gawd!" I moaned breathlessly allowed. The fire! The flicking flames of Tobias and Angel. Wait, maybe they won't go near it! 
    _But then you'll be out of the frying pan and into the fire you dumb kid!_
    **_Fine then, take your pick. Torn apart by blood thirsty animals or die by Hounds, I don't care!!!_**
    The voices yelled back and forth as the number of blotches grew to five, each growling and yowling and howling such bloodcurdling sounds, they were almost certainly meant to terrifying me into panicking, and they were doing a damn good job of it too! I hitched Fury closer, sparing a sidelong look to my right. A brutish Houndoom had broken from the main pack, bounding easily beside me darting looks between the fire and us and as one we gasped. My feet took the opportunity to stumble. 
    The glowing silhouette of Tobias stood stricken to the spot. We must have been a horrifying sight, a bipedal creature with four stumpy blue arms sticking out and a long hair tail fanned behind it uttering hoarse squawks each time her ankle twisted too far. And snarling beside her the demon dog. 
    "GE-OW-OH-THEWAY! LETMETHRULETMETHRULETMETHRULETME THROUGH!" I squealed and Tobias baulked, tumbling backwards tripping over the log behind him onto his arse. "It's Topaz!" 
    _"More humans!" _ roared the brute, lunging at my calf with the silver claws gleaming and teeth bared in a malicious parody of a grin. With desperation I kicked out my right foot, hammering it down and swerved sideways, the claws swiping and just missing me, instead tearing apart the rubber soles of my new shoes, but I kept running. I hopped over the fallen log used as a bench, staggering for balance. 
    "Holy hell!" wailed Angel, hands floundering and releasing his Ivysaur. My pupils exploded with colour, unable to readjust quickly enough as I lurched around the clearing. Around me the Hounds clamoured, scrambling over the logs. One blurry creature made a pass at Angel but thin ropey vines coiled around it and threw it into the ground. 
    A Houndour appeared in front of me blinking furiously, growling and licking its chops as it tried to push me towards the edge of the clearing. With just enough sight and wits to make it seem logical, I jumped onto the crooked tree stump and hurled my body over the bonfire with tongues leaping up on high like a fountain. I gasped in pain as the heat pricked my skin but Fury's own flames flared around us forming a protective shield. 
    Landing in a crouch I scampered away, the Hounds bellowing in outrage, leaving the boys alone. Tobias stared agape but Angel still kept his head. "Sora, vinewhip her!" 
    "Her?" I yelped as two lithe green tendrils shot by my ear, bonking a 'Dour across the nose, the other slapping my shoulder leaving a stinging red mark. Stumbling faster my fingers reached around Fury, bunching over the hurt. With the howls at my heels regrouping, me running on empty and Fury yelling 'to give her a go!' I was left without too many options. At least the trees were thinning out on either side so my drained body whose clumsy evasions of outstretched braches were becoming much too close for comfort. 
    "Gawd no!" 
    I wobbled to stop. Before me lay a clear space, moonlight illuminating my way as I came face to face with the granite rock face. As if barricading it were thick boxthorn bushes lined its base, their long woody needles waving to and fro as gust of winds swelled up from the surface of the river beside it. Flowing with a dull roar over the eroded granite from above cascaded the Reed River, surging on like a ribbon of silver in foam and fury, swift and icy deep. 
    Carefully I set down the burdensome Quilava inside the boxthorns. She was small enough to remain unharmed and was guarded if worst came to worst, and it most certainly would. Still tossing anxious looks over my shoulder I levelled her with a stern stare that said all to clearly, 'Move and you're in the Pokèball.' 
    She whined softly, but shrank back into the barrier, the hedging from hell. Swinging left and right my eyes puckered back into the tumultuous gloom. Even the trees seemed to quake and shudder at the cries, sometimes close, sometimes distant but always drawing closer. They bounced off the walls behind me giving the illusion of the hellhounds circling in from behind. 
    My irregular breaths cinched tight my ribs around my lungs as I doubled over with my hands on my knees, peering out beneath my scruffy fringe, I wiped my dripping nose with my forearm, blinking away my watering eyes. 
    "Coooooooo-WEE!" I called with one hand cupping my mouth, first low and then drawing off with the sharp pitched 'wee'. I waited despairingly for less than a second when the undergrowth crashed. Bursting through from my right the brute wasted no time. Back paws kicked up the earth with gleeful glittering eyes, bearing down like the headlights of a roadtrain. 
    My heart jumped! 
    I hurled myself backwards, thrusting my arm into the boxthorns and enduring the woody spines gouging out my arms and face to grasp a branching base. With a watery crack the tap came loose of the earth with unexpected ease, flinging clods and tearing up half the other bushes around it. I swiped at him across his tender pink nose. 
    "EAT THORNS MATE!" I screamed hoarsely through my gasping breath, driving him back as he reeled at the defence which was more than he had bargained for. He whined, slinking loathingly back bit by bit, still trying to fight through the huge spiny barricade with snapping jaws. 
    Almost to the forest's edge, with Fury's furious barracking filling the air, I moved in for the kill. The brute's back half sank as he met the base of a tree and I wound my shoulders for a vengeful golfers swing with teeth gritted. 
    Suddenly my companion's adulation turned to dismay and just as I glanced over my shoulder four leathery paws landed in the square of my back, hooking into the dips of my shoulders and twisting. My back wretched as I toppled, contorting like a corkscrew. Still clutching my double-ended weapon, my palms punched with dripping red. 
    My head throbbed in agony as I lay vulnerable, my vision now crowded with leering grins. I tried to speak but all I managed was a thick garbled sound clogging my throat. Their moist noses snuffled over my body, nudging my legs curiously but never losing their menacing snarls. 
    A sharp bark sounded to my left, a command to back off but for no compassionate intentions. As the seven or so lesser Pokèmon of the pack withdrew, in their place towered the first Houndoom, the Alpha. His head wagged up and down my sensibly still body. I knew that by what miracle I had escaped before wasn't likely to repeat itself. 
    Very slowly, I croaked. "Fury, as your trainer, I order you to stay there." 
    **"_Top_-"**
    _"Shut up."_ The Alpha said calmly, severing her hysterical please. He perched lightly on his haunch, gazing down with disgust. _"Whatever god put such revolting creatures whose only purpose is to fit every other firmly under its yoke should be cursed! And now, there will be, one, LESS!"_ he roared through his teeth. On cue the pack surged forward and- 
    Out of nowhere the clearing was ablaze in burning white monotones. The shadows evaporated in its wake and my eyeballs shrieked behind closed lids, shielding as much as I could by turning flat against the ground and forearm pressed against them. The electric light still etched into my corneas. About me howls of pathetic moans rose and fell like ocean waves. 
    And above the toneless baying was harsh laughter. 
    As the colour slowly melted into my vision I saw the dim figures of the Hounds writhing in pain. As nocturnal creatures with finely tuned eyesight it must have been excruciating, but at that moment pity was not high on my emotional list. 
    Crawling to his feet the Alpha blinked still stubbornly guarding me from the phantom menace. Realising my chance I shuffled to my right, towards the trees, which appeared to be marching away before my aching eyes. Catching on to the idea he wobbled, homing in with his acute hearing. A massive paw landed in front of my nose. 
    _"Move and I'll torch everything within 20 paws,"_ he hissed. _"And if you're thinking that if your rodent friend survives it'll be worth it, she won't survive this forest for long, especially if I have a mind to make it that way!"_
    "Yes," I whispered shakily. I pushed on to my elbows, searching for the source of the attack in the trees. 
    "Prepare for trouble," purred a voice. My head jerked looking up and I spied two shadows leaning back to back balancing on a branching hanging over the splashing river, the rainbow mist of the waterfall wrapping both in a shimmering aura of colour. 
    The one who spoke first fanned his fingers as if catching it in the palm of his hand. 
    "And make it double," breath the other huskily, crouching and tucking a curtain of silky red hair behind one ear. 
    "SHUT UP AND SAVE ME!" I bawled. My face pulled into an expression of, "My dear gawd,' and 'you _stupid_ idiots!' At the outburst the Alpha belched a ball of fire, lashing his arrow headed tail at my legs. I yelped, my hands flying to the back of my head and rolling aside. The ball scorched past my ear and exploded in a spray of sparks on the sandy grass. 
    "Ow-_wow_-ow!" I wailed, rubbing my ear furiously. The lesser pack howled, some dashing around crazily jaws agape, others at the muddled Team Rocket, thrown into disarray by my interruption. Tobias was the first to act, ordering his Noctowl, the obvious source of the Flash, into the fray of gnashing teeth at the base of the trunk. He landed heavily among them, lobbing his heavy soled shin high boots into the chest of one, leaving imbedded a pattern of its ridges like a cattle brand. 
    Angel yelled and a scraggly bush on the outskirts materialised into Ivysaur, firing a volley of pellets. They scattered among the lunging Houndour and sprouted into snaking vines, meshing some to the ground. Needled spins lodged in their skin, pulsing with an eerie green light. Their struggles against their tethers dwindled until they lay with exhausted whimpering. With energy sapped the vines shrivelled and disintegrated into dust. 
    With the remaining 'Dour trying to help their fallen comrades, I realised I was all but forgotten. I skittered to my feet, stumbling over the flopping sole of my shoe. 
    "Move!" Angel alerted as I glimpsed it over my shoulder. The brute! He kicked aside a sprawled 'Dour, pouncing at my heels. I squealed, feeling the fiery pain of his last graze burning above my knee and danced out of reach. Suddenly Angel leapt from the safety of the branches, landing wrongly, buckling his ankle and double over for balance, providing me with an escape. 
    As the brute clumsily rounded for a second charge, I broke for him. 
    Like gymnast on a springboard, I bounced, my foot landing square in Angel's bent back. 
    He grunted in surprise as I thrust my body for the branch. My sweat-slicked palms grasped its smooth mottled bark and with left over momentum I managed to swing one leg over the top. As I struggled onto it, the Brute barrelled into the upright Angel, poised for the impact. His hands quivered as he strained against him 
    He was saved as a flurry of serrated leaves ripped across the Houndoom's back, coupled with a hurtling green blur. He howled breathlessly as he landed on his side, winded. Forcing himself up he made ready to loose a flamethrower to toast the grass type but it was quenched in a deluge when in a scarlet flash Tobias's Wartortle was released, anxious for a shot. Its feathered ears flapped smugly as the bully fled into the trees with the rest of the pack on his heels. 
    As the last vanished into the shadows, Angel turned his single furious eye on me. 
    "You little cow!" he hissed, pointing at the branches above. 
    I barely heard, uttering a panting gasp of horror. "Fury!" I breathed. My feet scrambled onto my branch and I shot unsteadily upright, the only thing keeping me from toppling and snapping my neck was my single-minded desire to get to the end. 
    Snarling threats Fury submerged herself amongst the briar needles, lunging out momentarily and snapping at the nose tearing through the curling branches to get her. The Alpha stretched and slashed with his paws, unaware he had been deserted with blood seeping from the long scratches running off his paws, chest and face. It was contorted into a hideous mask of vengeance 
    "I gotcha Fury! I gotch-aahhhh!" I wailed hysterically as my balancing act fell through. My arms flailed as if trying to ward of the eminent impact. My eyes screwed shut and I tucked my head into my shoulder. 
    Maybe I can escape with partial brain function, part of me thought giddily, waiting for the crash. 
    My body somersaulted, and bounced. Okay, wrong word, more as if I sunk into layers of doonas, only much more spiky. Woody pins pricked and snapped, pitting my skin like a golf ball. The coiled branches absorbed the weight and slowly recoiled, rolling my body off with a thump. I groaned, turning onto my back and opening my eyes to salivating jaws. 
    "Eep." 
    "Bloody legendary rescue, Topaz!" Before the black chasm could close around my jugular, the voice rang out and the brown blur of Noctowl swooped in, ramming the 'Doom's shoulder and he teetered on two paws. Seizing the moment, from the other side the full brunt of Angel's shoulder met with deafening force, a fracture renting down the length of Houndoom's ivory horn as it was sandwiched through the briars and into the rock face with a howl. 
    _"Dirty, dirty humans!" _he cursed, his head rolling from side to side, his bloodshot eyes trained on the Rocket boys with hateful malice. They glittered with a ghostly memory. Suddenly he laughed, a cold humourless sound. _"This forest stretches from here to the City of Tin. You won't make it out alive!"_
    He chuckled again, turning and limping fearlessly into the murk. 
    Nobody moved, only eyes roving the beaten and bloody faces of the others. 
    I gave a painful groan, breaking the silence, still lying on my back wheezing with relief. Out of the bushes crawled Fury, tenderly nudging my arm with her nose. I grunted and her ears perked up, laying down with her head on my stomach in the grey gloom. 
    _"We really don't catch a break, huh?" _she said with a tired grin. 
    "I know," I replied, a matter-of-factly. "This Journey thing is rapidly becoming a pain in the arse." With tremendous effort I sat up, feeling the shallow scratches across my cheeks. A sharp pinch reminded me of the nip across my knee flare up. "And everywhere else," I added, listening to the roar of the waterfall in the background. 
    _"Uhuh," _she agreed, turning and licking a nasty puncture on her whither. 
    I swore at myself, leaning back on my elbows and watching with concern. Most were just crimson lines criss-crossing the surface, seeping over the yellow fur to be lost amongst the violet. I cringed as I noticed a red jag run over her recovering burn bald spot. So much for no stress, there wasn't a worse way I could have taken care of her. I was not looking forward to meeting a Nurse Joy for her next check up, she would almost certainly call her cousin, slash, sister, slash, aunt or whatever and I would be in for the lecture of a lifetime. Not that I didn't deserve it. 
    Fury saw my pained look and put a paw on my chest. _"Don't sweat it."_
    I smiled back, ruffling her ears. 
    "Here." I jerked, shrinking back and putting myself in front of Fury as Angel, picking himself up from beside me and dusting off his slacks, offered a hand up. I glared suspiciously at it, like he might have had a hidden shock buzzer hidden somewhere, not budging an inch. Team Rocket was as much a threat as any Houndoom pack. 
    Holding his ice chip eyes steadily, I scooped my Pokèmon up with difficulty but my wince as I put weight on my bitten leg betrayed my weakness. I stiffened stubbornly, lifting my head up and shoved his hand away from me as his hand went out to balance me. 
    "Oh, sorry Princess!" Tobias sneered from the background, kneeling and feeling over Wartortle's scalp for injuries. "Don't forget, we just saved your life!" 
    "As opposed to the half a dozen times you've tried to kill me!" I retorted venomously, not believing my ears. 
    Tobias was about to snap back but Angel shot a cold commanding glance, cutting off any arguments between either of us. "You can go if you want, or you can spend the night at our camp. We have food, fire and security." 
    "No-" 
    _"Take it!"_ Fury hissed suddenly into my ear. 
    My eyes bulged and I quickly turned my back on them. "What are you, nuts?" I blurted in a stage whisper. 
    _"Hell no, it's the most intelligent option. If it's us two by ourselves we can't fend off those crazy dogs a second time. Your muscles are cooling down and they are gonna_ kill _come morning. I can't fight, and it's too dark to fight effectively with your other Pokèmon in this tight forest without a Pokèmon that knows flash."_
    "Where's Cooee anyway?" I said aggressively, tossing a glace over my shoulder. Both boys watched with amusement at our furious whisperings. 
    _"Cool it, he's just over the other side of the river- No, don't call him a coward- I think he saw you'd be safer from the Rockets without him."_
    "And now you're suggesting I join their happy little slumber party?!" 
    _"Do it." _
    I wanted to be obstinate, but my adrenaline rush had worn thin. 
    "Fine," I said to the Rocket boys tiredly with the heel of my palm to my forehead. 
    "Hallelujah! The girl has seen the light!" shouted Tobias sarcastically in the voice of an evangelist preacher, throwing his arms into the air in mock praise, already beginning the trek back to the trees. Angel snorted, tensing as he monitored the skirts of the clearing and when no screams of agony came forth, he moved to help me again. 
    "You _are_ hurt," he said emphatically. 
    "But not dead," I shot back. 
    I hurried on, wobbling from tree to tree and watching Tobias's red head bobbing up and down in the gloom ahead. Fury grouched and grumbled loudly about the rough ride, her fidgeting distracting me from my feet as they navigated their way through the buttressing roots, complaining equally as noisome. Suddenly the blisters I complained about on the first day I set out from Goldenrod in my new shoes didn't seem so bad. 
    "Ow!" I grunted through gritted teeth for the fourth time, fumbling Fury. 
    "Here, let me take her," he volunteered again, already reaching through my arms from behind. I shivered as I felt the brush of my enemy's hair over my shoulder, shielding his face from view. Angry at his aloofness and his indifference at my hostility, I shoved back, butting him into the tree trunk hard as I could and ducking away. His flinty eyes flashed at me, rubbing his side where my suspender buckles jabbed him. He lashed out, grabbing me fiercely by the shoulder and digging his fingers under my shoulder. "You know, a simple thank you could go a long way!" he hissed, the veil of hair swished briefly revealing both eyes glinting with frustration. 
    I wouldn't cower, I wouldn't quail, as his hands tightened like a vice. Gawd, I was dead and I deserved it for being so trusting! 
    _"Quiiiiiil!"_ The soft rumble from far back in Fury's throat made him flinch, blinking as if he awakened from a dream, yanking his hand away and rubbing it furiously on his pant leg. 
    "Sorry," he stuttered, with head down and pressed on hurriedly. 
    "Freak'n hell, Fury," I gulped, letting my pent up air escape in a long whoosh. "I told you Fury! I told you, I told you!" 
    _"Stop whining, you were asking it for being such a snot." _My mouth sagged at her bluntness, but her glittering red eyes bored into me. _"You're being totally immature about this. If they wanted you dead they'da let the Houndoom finish the job. I'm your Pokèmon and I'm your friend so I'm doing this in the best interest of both of us. I'm not asking you to pledge you're undying loyalty to them, I'm asking you to think this through and spend the night in the protection of a group…… And say you're sorry."_
    I opened my mouth to argue but a level glance made me sigh in resignation. As usual she was the voice of reason. Pushing my hair out of my eyes I hobbled faster and eventually caught up. Veering wide around the icy haired boy dappled in the shadows of the canopy I mumbled a barely audible "Sorry." 
    Obviously it was heard as I was answered with one visible eyebrow arched quizzically, but gave no other sign. Swallowing hard, I moved a little closer to Tobias ironically enough, who at least released his temper in healthier doses. He cast a sidelong glance and a fleeting toothy grin, but continued on. Trying to ignore the pain of my aches and stiffening muscles I concentrated on the three pairs of footsteps crunching over the dead leaves. One heavy and determined, the second awkward and uncertain, and the last soft and nonchalant. 
    Oh, I hurt, I ached! My eyes were little more than weary slits as my almost catatonic brain dwelt on each separate pain. Hugging Fury tight, I rested my head on her shoulder, soft where it was whole but otherwise prickly. Her deep breaths in and out calmed me down. 
    That warm and fuzzy feeling deflated when Tobias's boots halted suddenly. Reactions sluggish, my own footfall pinched his heel. Looking up with a dopey expression, I said stupidly, "huh?" 
    Tobias whipped around, the tendrils framing his face swaying and his lower lip stuck out in irritation. The amber light of the flames dancing over his face signalled we'd reached home base. I sank down onto the felled trees with a noise of disapproval, never mind these barriers had given me precious moment of time little more than 15 minutes ago, resting my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands, massaging temples sticky with dry sweat. I felt so dirty that I was desperate for a quick dip in the river to scrub it off. 
    Through my fingers I caught the pitying looks shared between the boys, piqued. I wasn't a damn charity case! Oblivious to my observations they exchanged silent instructions. Tobias was not pleased with his assigned task; adopting a harried look and hands spread in appeal. Unsympathetic, Angel folded his arms until Tobias trudged back into the darkness grouching, following the cones of light provided by Noctowl on his shoulder. 
    Angel raked back his pale hair, regarding my tired form quietly, mostly centred on my leg. Without a word he fetched a tin billy and suspended it from a tripod above flames and filled it full from his canteen. We peered across the fire, the watery _glub-glub-glub_ sound covered the uncomfortable lull. 
    Licking my lips I reached down and stroked Fury's back, more to reassure myself than her. Her chest rose and fell in slow rhythms and from her nose came something like a pug dogs breathing. She was asleep! Although I was tempted to nudge her awake with my toe, I steadied my courage. I could last without her for a while. 
    Relaxed by her odd snuffling sound my muscles snapped tense again as Tobias's gruff voice, somewhat muffled, come into hearing again. As his shadowy from reappeared, my eyes laid on the large inky blot he lugged with him in one hand, tossing it haphazardly aside. It rolled until it lay by the tree trunk ruffling and rattling. In his hand he was sharing a muesli bar with Noctowl. My mouth curved upwards slightly. Whatever else had happened, she was still scoffing down her fair share. She looked happy. 
    That half smile vanished when I realized whose snack it was, with its bright blue and orange wrapper and the _Kablaam!_ logo hidden under his grubby fingers. 
    "Thief!" I accused in a voice thick with sleep, attempting to rise. The shallow gashes made my sheering teeth kindled suddenly before fading to a barely discernable throb. I had definitely had worse, but this was no picnic. It was enough to make me flinch. Pretending there was no momentary lapse into weakness, I still stalked with lips pressed into a thin angry line. His own burly grin rankled even more. 
    "Call it a toll for being your pack horse," he chewed thoughtfully, like a dull grazing Miltank. Looking down on me I could tell he was gauging just how long it would take for me to pop a blood vessel. Even as I stood with my rigid arms glued to my side with flexing fingers and chin stuck out like a petulant child, I perceived that something had happened. Something big, and it had forced him to stand back and take stock of himself. A raging temper that had me defend myself in Violet still lay behind those roving emerald eyes, but it had at least been tempered. Without looking I wondered if Angel had anything to do with it, but I knew he would reveal nothing. 
    "Keep it then," I finally told him grudgingly, stepping down and squatting I front of my back. Unbuckling the side clasp grumpily, I caught a bulge in the red head's pant pockets. "No! Not my chocolate bars!" I moaned, clutching at them. The boy was too quick and only offered another teasing smile. Breaking in half the last of his snack, one between his thumb and forefinger for Noctowl who gobbled it down looking greedily for more, the other popped into his own gob with an exaggerated smack of his lips. 
    "Hmm, firewood's low. I ain't gonna spend the night with the fire nothing by embers," he said to Angel, swallowing. 
    Angel looked up from the bubbling billy, stoking the coals into gentle flames with eyes narrowed. "Is that prudent?" 
    Tobias shrugged, he and I sharing the same wondering face where this kid got his vocabulary. He rolled two full Pokèballs in his palm for him to see. Without changing expression, Angel stared fixedly at the fire. Shaking his head, he dissipated again under the trees like a shadow himself. 
    I suppressed a shudder. The kid had guts, if no commonsense. With a dejected sigh from me, he took my chocolate with him, and now there would be none to keep me sane until I reached Nanna's. 
    "Well, there's a warm and cheery friendship," I commented sarcastically, leaning into my pack to see just how much Tobias had pawed through. 
    "Friendship has nothing to do with it in this career," Angel answered evenly, sprinkling some sort of aromatic herb with a sharp minty tang. 
    "Career? Is that what you call it?" 
    "Don't be so quick to criticise, Miss High and Mighty. As great a surprise as it is too you, even you can't see all ends," he barked harshly. Behind me I heard the wooden spoon chink as he let it drop inside the can, dusting his hands together. My ears pricked up in interest, listening to the agitated scuff of his boots. 
    _Know thy enemy,_ I thought with a secretive smile hidden by my long thatch of blue black hair. "And why is that?" I goaded, but was met with a sullen silence. He nestled beside the billy again, the wood scraping its sides as the water swirled. 
    Meditating on a way to get him to talk, my eye laid on an offending collar poking through the teeth of a hastily zipped zipper. Distrustful, I unfurled it and saw everything in crumpled disarray. 
    "You!" I flared angry and incredulous. "You boys are perverts!" 
    Angel smiled slyly, as only a teenage boy can smile. 
    Stuffing them back in flushing furiously, I ground my knee into the leaves, twisting around aggressively when a sharp pain, like someone jabbing raw nerves with a knitting needle. Biting back a cry, limiting it to a muted squeak. Rocking back onto my butt, I dragged myself into the pool of light for a closer examination. Two furrows filled with gooey congealed blood and caked scales that had soaked through my ruffled leg warmers. Pushing it and the blue band emblazoned with the Earth symbol around my ankle, my fingers hovered over the hypersensitive bared tissue. Wedged in a gluggy gash was little more than a twig, like a kid balancing a toothpick between thin grimacing lips. Scowling, I lifted my pinkie, the only finger that had a half decent nail, not broken, worn or chewed that could be considered worthy for such a task. My muscles bunched for it and a swift flick it was dislodged, not without the anticipated pain. 
    "Waroo," whined dismally, wanting to rub the source furiously like a stubbed toe. 
    "Come here, it's almost done." Angel's no nonsense voice cut through my tantrum. He lifted the billy almost ceremoniously from the tripod with a hook, sloshing seething water into the ash and coals with a liquidly hiss. He set it down on the flat stump conveniently near the fire carefully. 
    "There," he pointed at the log. 
    Although I didn't like the idea, both suspicious of him and reluctant to shift my knee, already dribbling bright red beads, but it wasn't a request. 
    In my usual, 'cut off the nose to spite the face' way, I stood up in one quick movement, stifling the pain and keeping an easy going smile as if it was nothing more than a stroll down the beach. Sauntering over and standing over him as he tended the bubbling concoction he had brewed he reached into his pocket and plucked out a little packet, palming the label out of sight as soon as he tipped its white crystals in. I knew exactly what he planned to do! 
    "SALT?!!!" I yelped bouncing back with my fist raised and teeth gritted if that's what it took to fend him off. 
    He shook his head ever so slightly, lip curled in contempt. "One, fists don't solve everything. Two, even if they did what makes you think you could beat someone older, stronger and smarter-" he ignored my disgruntled expression and finished "And three, you're a wuss." 
    Angel stressed the 'whuh' sound tauntingly. He watched my feathers ruffle and fluff up, patiently waiting for them to resettle and gestured again at the seat. I scrunched my fist. The underhanded rodent had me trapped with my own pride. 
    Dumping my butt heavily on top, I stuck my knee stolidly in his face. He recoiled from the mess, and I could see that childish was also right on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he snatched the red hot cloth soaking and pressed it ruthlessly to the cuts before I could react. I bawled, lifting my fist and thumping down over his knuckles. This backfired, sending knives up my leg. With both jabbered unmindful of the other. I glared beneath my fringe while his white hair belled, flexing his fingers and shaking them vigorously. 
    "Truce!" he cried with equal angry looks. Fury gave a piggish snort and rolled on to her back but didn't bat an eyelid. 
    _Great,_ I thought clenching the back of the log, gritting my teeth and waiting for the pain to subside. _What a bodyguard!_
    "It's fine!" I snapped standing up. Angel pushed my shoulder back down, leaving me with the urge to wipe the invisible marks away. Kneeling down again, he began in the same frigid tone. He hated me. Good. It was mutual. 
    "No it is not, nor will be fine!" said Mr Know-it-all. "You were bitten by a Houndoom-" 
    "It was barely a scrape!" 
    "- and that phantom pain will probably stick around forever. This thing eats meat, carrion if things get desperate and you want the bacteria forming their own primordial civilization in there?" 
    "Yes!" I shot back. 
    "You are such a child!" 
    "Am not!" 
    "Are too!" 
    "Am not!" 
    "Are to- this is idiotic! Sit back! Stay down! Don't move! And I mean it or I'll get Sora to paralyse you!" 
    My eyes stormed indecisively. I could leave right then and leave the arrogant so and so but one look a Fury's slumbering form, honking noises and all, I knew I wouldn't wake her. My shoulders slumped, I felt browbeaten and miserable to have to rely on these thieves for protection. With head turned away I suffered to have him tentatively dab the pungent minty water over the bite. I won't deny that it didn't kill each time he resoaked it, the salt stinging worse than the bite itself. Cleaning away the gunk and dry blood caked on my leg, the water was dyed a murky red. 
    "Done," he announced, grasping the billy's handle. He moved ghost-like to the edge of the circle and hurled it out, with a dull splash. "Don't move, we still have to bind it." 
    "I can do it myself!" I told him coldly as he went away to wash it out. Bending over and grasping the roll of bandage in one hand, and a near by stick in the other. I set about doing as we had always been told. 
    Metone held the most poisonous Pokèmon in the world, flocking there it seemed. I had even heard somewhere that even their venom was more potent than their northern cousins so every kid from four and up knew how to apply a pressure bandage. Even I had needed it once or twice while trumping through the long grass of our back paddocks. 
    Positioning the stick beside it to keep it straight I wound the material around so tight my toes tingled. Doing so restricted the flow of blood, thus slowing the poison. 
    Angel returned swinging the billy lazily at his side, heavy droplets catching the thin sliver of moon casting the slanting shadows around us. Placing it next to the pack and picking out more items, all clearly organised and catalogued, he turned to watch me curiously. To me it looked like scepticism but either way he waited loftily with arms crossed until I rolled the last bit to meet my shin. 
    "What _are_ you doing?" he ventured, looking pointedly at the red stain blooming on the crisp white material. 
    "Duh." I said briskly, tucking one end under the other with a sharp tug. I peered beneath my fringe before blowing it out of the way, sitting up straight and crossing my arms to admire my handiwork. Sure, the area around it was a pallid white from poor circulation, but it was perfect! 
    "Look, kid, I don't know where you went to med school but that doesn't work." Angel knelt down oblivious as I tried to slap his hands away from my hard work. He just butted through them and unravelled it until his hands met the first smudges of blood. With vague disgust on his face he picked around them, and wound it back into a little ball in his other hand, touching the splotches as little as possible. 
    "Have to wash it now," he muttered to himself under his breath, setting it aside and reaching for an unlabelled brown tinted bottle and some cotton buds. He held the bottle to his eye, shaking it up and watching the large bubbles roll around inside. I swallowed hard, I knew an antibacterial wash when I saw it. Salt was a prissy toy poodle compared to the Arcanine this was. Like every little kid, scraped knees came naturally to me and when my mother tried to apply it she always needed dad to hold me down. I struggled like a rabbit in a trap. 
    "Neat freak," I muttered somewhat offended at the way he treated the bloody bandage, still eyeing the bottle anxiously. 
    "Well its better than being a grubby little girl," Angel countered sweetly, unscrewing the lid. He pressed a cotton ball over the lip and tipped it upside down. A gluggy amber ooze soaked through. "I mean, look at you." Angel's eyes strayed across the scratches on my cheek, the scabs on my elbows and finally landing on the faded bruises and puckered sores from the Beedrill attack. A larger one below my floating rib looked especially nasty in a corona of yellow and green with threads of purple. "You should cover them up?" 
    He looked with soft concern. 
    Biting my bottom lip I looked up at the sky as if in silent prayer. The stars flickered behind faintly behind the lace of clouds still voyaging from west to east like lumbering cattle. The three quarter moon shone through with long silvery fingers. 
    "Nurse Joy said it needed to air." 
    "I always knew you weren't good enough for a human doctor." 
    My face screwed up angrily ready to show _him_ who wasn't good enough for a human doctor when he uttered a low, musical chuckle. I started in surprise at the warm smile and smiled foolishly back. 
    "Ready?" The cotton ball came out with a dull pop, the dangling droplets hung on viscous threads and he carefully pressed it against the gashes. I let out a pained hiss that ended gasp. As he wiped down each time it burned like ice cream on a sensitive tooth. I gritted my teeth tightly, squeezing Angel's offered hand as if it was my only lifeline. 
    Unmoved by my curses but grimacing under the strength of my grip, he staunched the rest and took some first aid gauze from his back pocket. "Hold that." 
    Dubiously I did so freeing his bright red hand and steadying it over the top, feeling the sticky ooze dribble down my leg as he dapped it down with what looked like enough adhesive stripe to batten down a house for Hurricane Tracy. I cringed. I was not looking forward to tearing it off. 
    "I don't think you'll need the bandage. They were deep but clean and you won't need it for more than a day or too judging from how fast you seem to heal," he speculated with a furtive, marvelling glance. He gathered his things and stood up, once again slipping back into his taciturn self. I rose too, testing the manoeuvrability of the knee. A fairly good job, not that I'd admit it aloud. 
    My snowy haired nemesis pottered around the campfire, making sure the circle of rocks around the fire were free of dry grass, a set of trip lines established in case our canine friends decided to pay us a visit during the night and even a cursory check that that everything in his bag was methodically arranged for a quick get away in the morning. Even so, throughout I caught the stealthy glances my way. I unnerved him as I followed him with round blue eyes. 
    Angel sighed softly looking into the darkness the way Tobias had gone, holding his elbows as he paced. His face turned away with the warm glow of the fire at his back, crackling as a log popped. 
    His return not forthcoming he strode slowly back to his bag, conjuring a compressed blue bundle from inside. I watched with masked interest if he'd pull anything else out. It was like watching Mary Poppin's carpetbag and sooner or later a napping Snorlax would present itself. 
    However he was content with what he had, peeling back the satchel and stretched a faded sleeping bag just out of reach of the fire as he lay down with his hands behind his head. His body didn't relax, its breathing still suppressed and movement restricted as if out of rigid habit. 
    While I noticed these things with self-contemptuous fascination I followed suit, unfurling my own bag on the other side of the fire and smoothly transferred Fury beneath the covers. He little legs kicked as she chased some dream phantom. 
    _"Mewthree,"_ she muttered thickly, rolling over. I pondered the snatch of her subconscious, to playing to my desperate need for the rest my body begged for. I was in the heart of enemies on all sides, I reminded myself hardheartedly, concentrating on the swirls of red and gold that licked up from the charred branches as the dirt that lodged in his rough bark popped like fizzle lollies. One of the faggots gnawed insistently by the fire snapped and fell in, the others crackling and sliding into places accordingly. The glowing coals kicked up bright orange embers that floated away on the eddying breezed that shifted in and out of the swaying silhouettes outlined against the star spangled sky. 
    My mind rewound and replayed scenes from B.J, Before Journey. The hundreds of bonfires Scotty, Jess, Jazz, Matt and I shared every summer in our back paddocks beneath such a celestial mural, arguing over the most idiotic things. Song lyrics, whether the night sky was dark blue or dark purple, how many cans of soft drink we could finish before needing to pee. Singing loud and out of tune campfire shanties with the Noctowl howling in protest from the shadowy splash of trees behind us. In particular, our last one, a few days before the final big shindig, it was a _kid's only_ affair. 
    Practically raw snags cooked under the coals in alfoil, someone with the bright idea to make eucalyptus tea and especially Scott and Jazz. They had selected long, staff like branches made of hardwood and set them amongst the fire, rolling them over and pulling them out near the end with their glowing pebble surfaces. Going out past the reach of the firelight they enacted the classic light sabre scene from the first Star Wars trilogy, lost hand and all. The sabres exploded in a shower of hot white sparks when they clashed, until they slowly dimmed and died. 
    I grinned broadly in the dark, aware how goulash I mush have looked as I saw Jarrod's top half snap off in my minds eye and caught the dray summer brush alight. We squawked in panic until Jazz, as responsible as ever grabbed the bucket of water reserved for extinguishing the campfire and drowned the growing flames in a steaming deluge. With all the clarity as if they were right here, I saw them, their Cheshire cat grins bobbing in the shadows around me, with twinkling eyes and weak, breathless chuckles. 
    Before I could contain myself a heavy, melancholy sigh escaped my lips. 
    On the other side of the fire Angel's shadow sat up, startling me from my reverie. Even I didn't realise how sad I sounded until he spoke up. 
    "Are you ok?" he asked with unexpected concern. 
    "Yeah," I answered steadily, forcing myself not to let my voice crack. I moaned softly but smothered it into my hands. 
    "You only left about the same time as Tobias, didn't you?" 
    "Mmhmm, same batch, 'bout months ago." I contemplated how scornfully I had gloated the fact that very morning. 
    "Don't worry," he soothed. "You don't really get over homesickness, but it fades and you accept it." His voice dropped, falling into his own ocean of memories. His lean face hovering like a disembodied ghost over the fire brooded on poor choices of the past. 
    Swallowing, I murmured hesitantly, "So you began your journey…." 
    "Six years ago," he supplied. He smiled wanly at the small 'O' that formed on my lips. "Yes Topaz, even I was a ten year old boy once, setting out on a Pokèmon Journey filled with hope and promise and infinite possibilities. Without a Pokèmon, yet-" 
    "But your Ivysaur?" 
    "Sora? She was my first, but that was after…" Angel's voice fell away with hitching sound, turning way so his hair, soaking up the orange glow hid his face. His patience for conversation finally wore thin and he closed it quickly, clearing his throat and advised in his old, cold husky voice, "Go to sleep kid. You're tired and you don't need to worry." 
    His hypnotic suggestion was effective almost immediately. My lids fluttered, suddenly filled with wet cement as I laboured to keep my vigilance up. My arms propping me up as I leaned back on them wobbled like jelly until I relented and lay down with one under my head and the other lying gently over Fury's back. She wriggled a moment under the extra weight but settled down with a guttural grunt. 
    Through the drowsy sickles I saw him still sitting up and mulling over whatever memories I had woken up but finally the struggle against sleep was lost and I slipped into a muted slumber. I woke briefly a little after to see Tobias's tall frame drop his pile with a clatter, crisscrossing the larger ones over the fire muttering disgustedly at Angel, "Bunch a slackers." 
    I drifted back into hazy dreams of my childhood; vaguely knowing the boys wouldn't be there when I arose the next morning. And that was strange, because I knew that it would be hard to see them the same way again. 

/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\

    Well, that's it people, another chapter over. 
    To the people who like action, I'm sorry. _Wings of Council_ seems to be getting very repetitive and I'm sorry. 
    To the people who were looking for romance, I'm sorry. From the survey a lot of people were looking forward to it, but I couldn't. I don't believe in love at the age of 14, I don't believe in love at the age of 17, so I went for the next best thing, empathy. 
    To the people who like emotional stuff, I have a feeling a managed to screw that up to. Darn, although I think some of my best writing for WoC went into that little part.  
To my friends at FF.net Thank and I'd like to apologies to you. You see, I write specifically for one of the most amazing Pokemon fanfiction sites on the net, the Pokemon Tower Library. My suggestion GO THERE! SUBMIT!!! But although I thank the people there I neglect to thank all of your imput. Its you who I get my most insightful reviews There are so many I would like to thank individually but I'm so lazy, and your probably so sick of me already. 
    Most importantly, my work is undergoing a magnificent rewrite. I would like to post hear but I'm not sure I can withough deleted the old copy. Can someone tell me about that? 
    Drop a line anytime as I love talking to you. I'm on MSN, Shirasharmi@hotmail.com but please, when I ask how you know me, please don't say, I don't know! It drives me nuts having heaps of people I don't know who I'm talking to. Till next time! 

Topaz


	14. My Apologies

Oh my gawd! I'm seriously sorry to anyone who was waiting for an update on this version! It is my pleasure to inform you both of my new version of On the Wings of Council, completely rewritten with even a few new chapters thrown in where there were none before. It also has its own site, 

Hopefully I'll see you at one or the other

Hooroo

Topaz


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